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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF. CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 

MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


HUNTING   IN   THE   JUNGLE 

WITH 

GUN   AND   GUIDE 


HE    CAME    WITH    HEAD    UP,    A    SUPERB    SIGHT. 


Hunting  in  the  Jungle 

WITH   GUN   AND   GUIDE 

AFTER    LARGE    GAME 

ADAPTED    FROM    "  LES   ANIiMAUX   SAUVAGES  "    BY 

WARREN    F.   KELLOGG 


ILLUSTRATED 


BOSTON 

ESTES     AND     LAURIAT 

PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  1888, 
By  Estes  and  Lauriat. 


John  Wilson  and  Son,  Cambridge. 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter  Page 

I.     Off  for  the  Jungle =    ....  11 

II.     I  MEET  Thursday 21 

III.  My  First  Gorilla 31 

IV.  Domesticating  my  Gorilla 57 

V.     Hunting  Chimpanzees 72 

VI.  I    MAKE    THE    ACQUAINTANCE    OF    THE    OrANG-OuTANG        .       .  94 

VII.     Still  in  Borneo 126 

VIII.     Back  to  Africa ■ 143 

IX.     A  Few  Elephant  Stories 179 

X.     Hunting  the  Rhinoceros 209 

XI.     Lions  and  Tigers 224 

XII.     A  Letter  from  the  Niger 250 

XIII.  Another  of  the  Cat  Family 267 

XIV.  An  American's  Adventures 279 

XV.     A  Quick  Trip  through  "the  Bush" 312 


ivi31 291  o 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page 

He  came  with  Head  up,  a  Superb  Sight  (see  page  243)  .  Frontispiece 
The  Blinding  Lightning,  at  Quick-recurring  Intervals,  disclosed  the 

"Wild  Scene  around 15 

The  Low  Line  of  the  African  Shore 19 

A  Family  of  Gorillas 25 

All  Day  long  she  grinds  the  Meal 29 

A  Monkey,  some  Fowls,  and  a  Bunch  of  Bananas 32 

An  Enormous  Gorilla  rolling  his  Angry  Eyes  in  every  Direction     .  37 

She  sprang  from  her  Shelter  holding  a  Little  Gorilla 40 

I  aimed  full  at  his  Breast 43 

This  Gorilla  builds  a  Rude  Hut 47 

The  Guide,  with  a  Triumphant  Shout,  seized  the  Little  Gorilla  by 

the  N'ape  of  the  Neck 53 

Hunting  a  Gorilla 59 

A  Struggle  for  Life 61 

Poor  Joseph,  his  Head  on  my  Knees 67 

I  had  the  Body  buried  at  the  Foot  of  a  Tree 70 

At  the  Door  of  his  Aerial  House  stands  the  Chimpanzee       ...  75 

It  was  mere  Play  for  him  to  uncork  a  Bottle 84 

lie  helps  himself  to  the  Contents  of  the  Natives'  Calabashes    .     .  87 

An  Oraug-Outang 95 

A  Dyak  of  Borneo 97 

They  are  very  Careful  of  their  Young 101 


viii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page 

He  took  Refuge  between  Two  Branches  of  a  Lofty  Tree  .     .     .     .  103 

The  Chinamen's  Camp 105 

The  Brute,  although  badly  wounded,  would  have  been  more  than 

a  Match  for  tlicm 109 

I  taught  him  to  use  a  Spoon 112 

We  were  travelling  through  the  Edge  of  a  Great  Swamp      .     .     ,  114 

"Crocodiles!  Crocodiles!" 117 

We  covered  our  Heads  with  Marsh  Plants 120 

The  Crocodile  lay  on  his  Side  on  a  Little  Island 123 

The  Gibbon,  or  Long-armed  Ape 127 

Gentle  Creatures  climbing  over  the  Ruins 129 

A  Few  Yards  from  the  Tower  a  Magnificent  Jaguar 133 

Offering  the  Best  Fruits  of  the  Land 137 

"  I  cannot  afford  to  support  them,"  he  said 139 

Macaque  Apes 141 

Searching  for  Elephants' Tusks  in  their  Burial-Places 145 

Elephants  impressed  into  the  English  Service 147 

Advance  Guards,  like  Sentinels 151 

The  Elephants'  Burial-Place 155 

"  It  is  a  Female,"  whispered  Thursday 159 

The  Advance  Guard  appeared  on  the  Edge  of  the  Clearing  .     .     .  1G2 

The  Herd  calmly  turned  their  Backs  and  started  for  the  Woods     .  1G5 

"Look!" 171 

I  seized  the  Branch,  and  began  to  crawl  along  it 175 

Piling  them  with  the  Greatest  Regularity LSI 

He  held  out  his  Wounded  Foot  for  me  to  see 183 

Playing  upon  them  like  a  Fire-Engine 187 

He  sprang  upon  his  Adversary's  Head  and  held  with  Claws  and 

Teeth 191 

He  was  past  Control 19G 

Over  Two  Hundred  Native  Devotees  threw  themselves  beneath 

the  White  Elephant's  Feet 199 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.  ix 

Page 

He  set  out  at  a  Tremendous  Pace 201 

The  Elephant  had  an  Inspiration 203 

The  Skeletons  of  his  Ancestors 205 

The  Whalers  often  find  them,  coated  with  Ice 207 

The  One-horned  Ehinoceros 210 

Before  he  can  turn  the  Hunter  buries  a  Spear  in  his  Heart  .     .     .  213 

The  Ehinoceros  fulfils  the  Mission  of  the  Ox 215 

On  the  Back  of  the  Female  rested  a  Young  One,  Uglier,  if  possible, 

than  its  Fond  Parents 217 

The  Frenchman  was  belaboring  his  Head  with  an  Oar      .     .     .     .  221 

Driving  the  Crocodiles  into  the  Water .  223 

He  and  his  Suite  applaud  their  Blood-thirsty  Ferocity      .     .     .     .  225 

Hippopotami 228 

A  Family  of  Tapirs 231 

Near  her  stood  her  Lover,  caressing  her 235 

We  travelled  at  a  Breakneck  Pace 237 

He  entered  the  Houses,  and  killed  right  and  left 241 

In  spite  of  their  Struggles  he  carried  One  of  them  off     ...     .  245 

The  Tiger  strained  its  Jaws  on  this  Man  of  Iron 248 

A  Guepard,  or  Hunting  Tiger 251 

Their  Favorite  Method  of  Attack 253 

Several  sprang  upon  our  Soldiers 257 

Before  and  behind  him  marched  an  Innumerable  Train    ....  260 

She  fastened  her  Cruel  Teeth  and  Claws  deep  in  his  Neck    .     .     .  263 

The  Jaguar  peacefully  engaged  in  Fishing 268 

One    more  Skilful  than  the  Rest    caught  his  Noose    around    his 

Hind  Quarters 271 

Three  Negroes  lying  in  their  Blood 275 

Twenty  Arrows  laid  the  Thief  low 277 

The  Bear  in  Captivity 280 

Seizing  Two  by  the  Nape  of  the  Neck,  I  dropped  them  into  a  Bag  283 

Eating  Stolen  Sweets  from  my  Host's  Beehives 285 


X  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page 

I  aimed  over  a  Crotch,  and  fired 287 

His  Head  wagging  above  them  with  Real  Eloquence 291 

This  was  the  Lad's  Regular  Couch 293 

My  Hands  trembled  with  Excitement 297 

On  a  Eloating  Cake  of  Ice,  a  Female  and  Two  Stalwart  Cubs     .     .  299 

The  Bear  made  a  Wild  Leap  upon  the  Nearest  Canoe .....  303 

His  Claws  deep  buried  in  his  Victim's  Neck 305 

jMounting  the  Specimens 307 

A  Glimpse  into  the  Museum 309 

Australian  Kangaroos 315 

By  his  Advice  we  left  our  Mustangs 318 

It  struggled  to  escape  from  my  Hands 321 

I  was  urging  on  my  Nag  with  Spur  and  Voice 324 

We  prolonged  our  Lunch  Hour 327 

He  swung  him  round  his  Head  several  Times 331 

Quick  as  Thought  he  drew  his  Knife 335 

Leaving  him,  like  Mazeppa,  at  the  Beast's  Mercy 337 

I  found  several  Small  Fish  in  his  Stomach 339 


V-l 


HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE 

WITH    GUN    AND    GUIDE. 


CHAPTER   I. 


OFF    FOR    THE    JUNGLE. 


WAS  young  and  fond  of  adventure,  full  of 
spirits  and  good  health ;  and  when  my  friend 
the  Captain  offered  me  a  bunk  in  his  own 
cabin  for  an  African  voyage,  I  promptly  gave  up  my 
desk  and  duties  in  a  New  York  shipping-house,  and 
accepted  the  invitation  at  once.  It  was  a  long  voyage, 
but  its  tedium  was  relieved  for  me  by  an  occasional 
shot  at  some  bird  lost  in  the  desert  of  waters,  or  by 
the  capture  of  an  unwary  shark  or  porpoise  when  a 
long  calm  gave  the  men  the  leisure  to  think  of  such 
sport.  Then  in  the  watches  of  the  summer  nights  the 
Captain  and  I  would  pace  the  deck  for  hours,  while  he 
spun  me  yarns  of  shipwreck  and  adventure  on  every 
coast.  He  had  been  in  the  English  service,  on  this 
very   African  station,  when  the  energies    of   the    Royal 


12  HUNTING  IN  THE  JUNGLE. 

Navy  were  exerted  against  the  slave-trade.  His  remi- 
niscences of  this  revolting  business  furnished  matter  for 
many  exciting  stories,  of  which  "  A  Night  on  an 
African  Cruiser  "  is  a  fair  example. 

"We  were  cruising  off  the  mouth  of  the  Congo,  looking 
out  for  slavers,  and  as  a  pleasant  change,  in  the  middle  of 
the  rainy  season,  the  night  was  starlight.  The  cheering 
cry  of  '  Sail  ho ! '  aroused  the  slumbering  watch  of  H.  M. 
Brig  ^  Pantaloon,'  of  which  I  was  first  officer,  and  dispelled 
my  half-waking  dreams.  Sending  word  to  the  captain, 
I  made  all  sail  on  the  ship,  and  in  a  few  minutes  our 
spars  were  covered  with  canvas  and  the  brig  gliding 
through  the  smooth  water  before  the  land-wind  which 
had  just  sprung  up. 

"  Our  men  clustered  forward  eagerly  trying  to  discover 
the  chase,  which  as  yet  was  visible  to  no  eyes  except 
those  of  the  Krooman  at  the  masthead  who  had  first 
reported  the  strange  sail.  As  a  colored  man's  power  of 
vision  is  generally  superior  at  night  to  that  of  a  white 
man,  the  suspense  was  endured  for  nearly  a  quarter  of 
an  hour,  when  the  good  faith  of  the  lookout  was  verified, 
the  strange  sail  being  plainly  visible  from  deck  on  the 
line  of  the  horizon,  and  the  distance  between  the  '  Panta- 
loon '  and  her  prey  rapidly  lessening. 

"  '  Clear  away  the  gun  forward,  and  give  her  a  blank 
cartridge  ! '  was  an  order  obeyed  as  soon  as  given.  The 
long  thirty-two  pounder  bellowed  forth,  and  the  flash 
lit  up  for  a  moment  the   excited  faces  grouped  around. 


OFF  FOR    THE  JUNGLE.  13 

As  the  report  died  away,  all  eyes  were  bent  on  the  chase 
to  see  if  she  obeyed  that  authoritative  signal  to  *  heave 
to ; '  but  her  white  sails  still  gleamed  in  the  moonlight, 
and  she  pursued  her  course  regardless  of  the  mandate. 
This  perseverance  in  attempting  to  escape  gave  good 
assurance  that  we  were  in  pursuit  of  a  slave-ship.  Many 
of  the  crew  began  already  in  imagination  to  spend  their 
prize-money  ;  the  Kroomen  especially  were  chuckling 
w4th  delight,  for  the  very  day  before,  at  their  earnest 
request,  the  figure-head  of  the  '  Pantaloon  '  had  had  his 
spectacles  repainted  '  to  make  him  see  better.' 

"  The  proverbial  '  slip  'twixt  the  cup  and  the  lip ' 
had,  however,  yet  to  be  illustrated.  The  guns  had  been 
reloaded,  this  time  with  shot,  and  the  gunner  was  stand- 
ing lanyard  in  hand  awaiting  the  order  to  fire,  when  the 
captain's  attention  was  attracted  by  the  flapping  of  the 
sails  —  hitherto  drawing  full  —  against  the  masts.  The 
land-w^ind  had  suddenly  subsided,  and  a  hot  stifling 
calm  succeeded.  On  looking  round  we  discovered  in  one 
quarter  of  the  horizon  the  small  cloud,  literally  '  like  a 
man's  hand,'  which  to  experienced  eyes  betokens  the 
quick  approach  of  a  tornado.  If  one  of  these  awful 
tropical  storms  should  strike  the  ship  while  all  sail  was 
set,  nothing  but  the  loss  of  her  masts  could  save  her. 

"  No  time  now  to  think  of  anything  but  the  safety  of 
the  ship.  'Hands  shorten  sail!  Quick,  men!  quick, 
for  your  lives  ! '  shouted  the  captain.  The  crew,  aware 
of  the  danger,  worked  well.     Sail  after  sail  was  taken  in. 


14  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

until,  instead  of  a  cloud  of  canvas,  the  cruiser  showed 
nothing  aloft  but  the  clear  tracery  of  spars  and  rigging. 
In  time,  and  only  just  in  time,  was  the  work  finished,  the 
ship  made  snug,  and  the  men  down  from  aloft. 

"  Meanwhile  the  cloud  had  rapidly  increased  in  volume 
until  it  overspread  half  the  horizon,  the  remainder  of  the 
heavens  being  still  bright  and  clear.  The  dead  silence 
of  expectation  was  broken  by  a  low  growl  of  thunder. 
One  breath  of  wind,  cold  as  from  an  ice-cave,  passed  over 
us ;  a  few  big  drops  of  rain  splashed  upon  the  deck ;  then, 
with  a  mighty  roar,  lashing  the  water  into  foam,  the  tor- 
nado swept  down  upon  us. 

,  "  Notwithstanding  all  our  precautions,  the  first  shock 
threw  the  '  Pantaloon  '  nearly  on  her  beam-ends.  For  a 
full  minute  of  painful  suspense  she  remained  in  that 
position,  then,  suddenly  righting,  —  all  her  timbers  groan- 
ing,—  she  yielded  to  her  helm  and  sped  before  the 
hurricane. 

"  Immediate  danger  was  now  over,  it  being  only  neces- 
sary to  keep  the  ship  before  the  wind  until  the  storm  had 
passed  over  us.  The  officers,  released  from  their  deepest 
anxiety,  were  able  to  note  —  some  even  to  enjoy  —  the 
magnificent  spectacle  of  an  African  tornado.  In  that 
roaring  wind  and  deafening  thunder  no  man  could  hear 
his  fellow  speak,  nor  in  the  darkness  see  the  rope  to 
which  he  clung  or  the  deck  on  which  he  stood,  save 
when  the  blinding  lightning  at  quick-recurring  intervals 
disclosed  the  wild  scene  around  him. 


THE   BLINDING   LIGHTNING   AT   QUICK-RECURRING   INTERVALS    DISCLOSED 
THE   WILD   SCENE    AROUND. 


OFF  FOR    THE  JUNGLE.  17 

'•  Two  hours  passed  thus,  and  the  fury  of  the  gale  began 
to  abate,  when  with  a  simultaneous  crash  of  thunder  the 
lightning  struck  our  foremast.  On  reaching  the  deck, 
the  electric  fluid  was  first  attracted  by  the  chain  cable, 
along  which  it  ran  hissing,  until  reaching  the  quarter- 
deck it  leaped  with  a  loud  report  to  the  nearest  gun, 
flashing  from  gun  to  gun  until  it  plunged  into  the  sea 
astern,  —  the  old  helmsman,  as  it  passed,  ducking  his 
head  as  he  would  to  an  enemy's  shot.  Happily  no 
one  was  seriously  hurt,  although  some  men  standing 
around  the  mast  were  partially  stunned.  The  thunder 
now  ceased,  and  the  wind  fell.  Quitting  my  station  on 
the  forecastle  I  joined  the  officers  on  the  quarter-deck, 
where  we  congratulated  ourselves  that  the  elements  had 
done  their  worst,  and  speculated  on  the  chances  of  the 
morning  light  gladdening  our  eyes  with  a  view  of  the  lost 
slaver.  In  all  probability,  however,  she  had  either  been 
capsized  or  driven  far  beyond  our  reach. 

"  In  these  southern  latitudes  no  soft  dawn  intervenes 
between  the  blackest  night  and  glaring,  broiling  day.  No 
sooner  did  day  break  than  all  eyes  were  anxiously  engaged 
sweeping  the  horizon  in  hopes  of  encountering  the  lost 
slaver.  Fifty  voices  quickly  exclaimed,  '  There  she  is  ! ' 
and  there,  indeed,  not  two  miles  off,  lay  the  luckless  vessel 
that  even  the  tornado  had  failed  to  save.  The  sea  was 
calm ;  not  a  ripple  disturbed  its  glassy  smoothness  as  it 
heaved  gently  in  the  long,  low  ground-swell.  It  was  evi- 
dent to  the  crew  of  the  slave-ship  that  no  chance  of  escape 


18  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

remained ;  al though  armed  they  were  no  match  for  an 
English  cruiser.  Soon  a  Brazilian  ensign  fluttered  up  to 
her  mast-head,  waved  there  a  moment,  and  then  slowly 
and  reluctantly  descended  in  token  of  surrender. 

"  Our  boats,  well  manned  and  armed,  pulled  toward  the 
prize,  passing  through  some  dozens  of  empty  wine-bottles 
recently  thrown  overboard,  showing  that  the  slaver's  crew 
had  begun  to  drown  their  sorrows  in  the  good  liquor  the 
cabin  stores  afforded,  determined  it  should  not  be  wasted 
on  their  captors.  Lazily  floating  close  to  the  vessel,  show- 
ing too  clearly  the  nature  of  her  cargo,  were  several  large 
sharks.  Attracted  by  the  scent,  these  monsters  of  the 
deep  follow  in  the  wake  of  slave-ships,  accompanying  them 
across  the  Atlantic,  and  becoming  the  floating  graves  of 
many  a  victim  to  the  horrors  of  the  voyage. 

"  On  boarding  the  prize,  she  proved  to  be  the  '  Aven- 
tureiro,'  a  fine  yacht-like  schooner  carrying  one  long 
swivel-gun  amidships.  There  was  small  need  to  inquire 
of  her  sullen  commander  whether  the  cargo  was  lawful  or 
contraband,  and  our  sailors  at  once  proceeded  to  open  the 
hatches.  On  removing  the  close  coverings  a  dense  steam- 
ing mist  of  foul  air  ascended  from  the  slave-deck  below ; 
and  three  hundred  unhappy  beings  of  both  sexes  were  dis- 
covered lying  down,  their  feet  manacled  to  long  iron  bars 
placed  fore  and  aft  through  the  ship.  From  this  piteous, 
writhing  mass  of  humanity  arose  strange  cries  and  shouts 
of  joy  when  their  irons  were  struck  off,  and  the  fact  of 
their  deliverance  began  to  dawn  upon  their  minds.     The 


OFF  FOR    THE  JUNGLE. 


19 


crew  of  the  slaver,  twenty-four  all  told,  were  transferred 
to  the  '  Pantaloon,'  and  a  lieutenant  and  prize  crew  were 
detailed  to  convey  the  schooner  to  Sierra  Leone.  Before 
parting  company,  however,  an  exciting  scene  of  plunder 
was  enacted,  officers  and  sailors  keenly  searching  after 
comestibles  which  —  although   articles   of  daily  food  on 


THE   LOW   LINK   OP   THE   AFRICAN   SHORE. 


shore  —  were  luxuries  to  men  shut  up  for  months  in  an 
African  cruiser. 

"  Tins  of  preserved  meats,  sardines,  potted  salmon,  and 
lobster  ;  boxes  .of  sugar,  raisins,  butter,  wine,  and  ale  re- 
warded the  laughing  plunderers,  and  were  passed  into 
the  ship  under  the  very  eyes  of  the  slave-captain.  Soon, 
however,  his  face  cleared  up  and  he  puffed  his  paper 
cheroot  with  calmness,  consoled,  doubtless,  by  the  recoh 


20  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

lection  of  former  snccessful  trips ;  for  slave-traders  con- 
fess that  if  one  vessel  out  of  four  escapes  they  are  amply 
repaid. 

"  And  now,  all  arrangements  being  complete,  the  '  Aven- 
tureiro,'  with  England's  flag  at  the  peak,  bore  away  to  the 
westward,  while  the  '  Pantaloon '  once  more  turned  toward 
her  cruising  ground." 

With  tales  like  this  my  friend  the  Captain  beguiled  the 
voyage,  so  that  I  was  almost  sorry  late  one  bright  after- 
noon to  see  the  low  line  of  the  African  shore,  and  later 
to  cast  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Sierra  Leone. 


CHAPTER   II. 


I    MEET    THURSDAY. 


HAD  a  letter  of  credit  on  a  trader  in  the  town, 
and  at  onr  first  interview  told  him  of  m}^  in- 
tention of  passing  five  or  six  months  in  the 
interior  to  complete  my  natural  history  collections.  He 
promised  to  get  me  a  guide  on  whose  faithfulness  I 
might  rely.  And  sure  enough,  a  few  days  later  he  sent 
me  a  strapping  great  fellow  as  black  as  the  ace  of 
spades.  He  bore  the  euphonious  name  of  N'Otooue,  and 
agreed,  for  the  modest  sum  of  ten  cents  per  day,  to  guide 
me  through  forest,  jungle,  and  swamp  as  far,  if  I  liked, 
as  the  Mozambique  coast  line  !  Life  was  too  short  to 
make  use  of  a  name  like  his ;  and  bearing  in  mind  Robin- 
son Crusoe's  admirable  example  and  the  day  on  which 
N'Otooue  was  presented  to  me,  I  nicknamed  him  Thurs- 
day, —  a  title  in  which  he  learned  to  feel  the  greatest 
pride  after  I  had  told  him  of  great  Thor's  warlike  attri- 
butes. As  Thursday,  therefore,  he  will  appear  in  future 
in  these  pages.  He  talked  English  a  little,  and  that  was 
a  great  thing  for  me,  for  it  would  allow  me  to  enjoy  the 
stories  he  would  be  sure  to  tell,  —  his  countrymen  beino; 


22  HUNTING  IN  THE  JUNGLE. 

all  natural  raconteurs.  Besides,  I  much  preferred  not  to 
be  obliged  to  use  the  decidedly  unsatisfactory  language  of 
signs  with  a  man  with  whom  I  was  to  live  some  months. 

"  He  is  everything  desirable,"  my  banker  said.  "  I  have 
known  him  the  last  ten  years,  during  which  he  has  come 
to  barter  ivory  and  skins  with  me,  and  he  will  not  dare, 
if  only  on  business  policy,  to  play  you  any  very  bad  trick. 
He  is  a  liar,  a  thief,  a  bully,  and  a  drunkard,  like  all  of 
them;  but  aside  from  that,"  with  a  smile,  "you  may 
depend  upon  him." 

The  portrait  of  the  illustrious  Thursday  is  a  simple 
matter,  for  the  trader  had  faithfully  outlined  his  moral 
nature  in  his  "recommendation."  Physically  he  was  a 
tall,  well-built  fellow  with  tightly  curling  hair,  his  teeth 
filed  to  a  point,  which  gave  him  a  singularly  ferocious 
appearance  closely  resembling  a  shark.  He  was  dressed 
in  a  belt,  from  which  in  front  hung  a  leopard's  skin, 
while  across  his  back  were  slung  a  single-barrelled  gun 
and  a  great  iron-wood  bow  over  six  feet  long.  ^.Through 
his  belt  was  stuck  an  English  axe,  of  which  he  was  very 
proud,  and  in  the  use  of  which  he  was  extremely  clever. 

He  belonged  to  the  cannibal  race  of  Fans,  which  for 
the  last  fifty  years  have  little  by  little  overrun  the  west 
coast  of  Africa  without  any  one  knowing  from  what  part 
of  the  interior  they  come.  Thursday  pretended  he  had 
become  quite  civilized  by  his  intercourse  with  the  whites, 
and  that  he  no  longer  ate  human  flesh,  —  leaving  that,  as 
he  said,  "  to  the  poor  blacks  who,"  with  a  superb  ges- 


/  MEET    THURSDAY.  23 

ture,  "  were  not  in  the  habit  of  living  among  the  officers 
and  traders."  If  his  own  stories  were  to  be  believed  he 
was  one  of  the  most  skilful  elephant  hunters  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, and,  in  fact,  he  had  come  almost  daily  to  the 
trading  posts  to  barter  ivory  tusks. 

Around  his  neck  he  wore  a  strino;  of  charms  —  tio-ers' 
and  alligators'  teeth  and  bits  of  stags'  antlers  —  to  pre- 
serve him  from  fever,  accidents,  bad  luck,  and  the  bite  of 
snakes.  He  offered  me  several,  urging  me  especially  to 
accept  one  that  would  protect  me  from  evil  spirits.  At 
first  I  laughed  at  him,  but  finding  this  offended  him  I 
took  his  panther's  tooth  and  put  it  in  my  pocket,  where- 
upon he  seemed  satisfied. 

His  wife,  who  accompanied  him,  wore  even  less,  if  pos- 
sible, than  himself.  She  was  a  gentle,  submissive  crea- 
ture, who  carried  our  drinking  water  and,  aided  by  her 
son,  a  good-looking  lad  of  ten  or  a  dozen  years  of  age, 
prepared  our  meals. 

As  you  see,  our  little  caravan  was  lightly  loaded  and 
few  in  numbers,  which  is,  I  think,  the  only  way  to  travel 
in  equatorial  Africa,  where  it  is  impossible  to  make  two 
negroes  agree  for  more  than  a  week,  unless  to  rob  and 
abandon  you  some  fine  night  in  the  midst  of  the  forest. 
I  was  not  afraid  of  this  fate  myself,  although  it  has  hap- 
pened to  so  many  explorers,  for  I  intended  to  go  inland 
not  further  than  forty  or  fifty  leagues.  At  that  distance 
the  traders  almost  always  ultimately  learn  the  fate  of 
any  missing  European,  and  there  are  plenty  of  ways  to 


24  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

avenge  their  murder.  The  traders'  own  personal  safety 
demands  that  the  white  man's  life  shall  not  be  at  the 
mercy  of  every  black  devil  who  covets  his  arms  or  his 
blanket. 

I  had  no  desire  to  solve  any  knotty  questions  of  physi- 
cal geography,  nor  to  cross  the  continent  from  sea  to  sea. 
My  wishes  were  much  more  modest,  namely,  —  to  collect 
specimens  of  all  the  varieties  of  apes  in  the  country,  es- 
pecially of  the  gorilla,  shooting  them  myself. 

The  evening  of  the  very  day  of  our  departure,  when  we 
had  pitched  our  camp  in  a  little  negro  village,  where  the 
chiefs  had  placed  huts  at  our  disposal,  I  told  Thursday 
my  plan  of  hunting  the  "  man-eater."  He  seemed  a  trifle 
astonished,  but  casting  a  glance  at  my  rifle,  Avhich  carries 
an  explosive  ball  whose  terrible  effect  he  had  seen  that 
very  afternoon  on  a  hare  that  I  had  literally  torn  to 
pieces,  he  replied  that  nothing  was  easier,  and  that  he 
would  giiide  me  to  their  favorite  haunts. 

The  chiefs  of  the  village  were  seated  in  a  circle  around 
us,  and  when  my  guide  explained  my  project  to  them  they 
all  began  to  jabber  and  gesticulate  at  a  tremendous  rate. 
At  my  request,  Thursday  translated  with  great  volubility 
a  series  of  adventures  with  this  curious  animal  so  remark- 
able that  only  a  negro  imagination  could  invent  such 
tales.  For  instance,  they  believe  that  the  "  man-eater " 
is  not  always  an  animal  like  other  apes,  but  that  he 
is  possessed  by  the  spirit  of  some  native  who,  for  his 
evil  ways,  is  condemned  to  return  to  this  world  in  the 


A   FAMILY   OF   GORILLAS. 


/  MEET   THURSDAY.  27 

monster's  body  before  being  admitted  to  the  happy  hunt- 
ing grounds.  These  ''haunted"  gorillas,  besides  enor- 
mous strength,  have  intelligence  as  great  as  man's.  They 
can  neither  be  caught  nor  killed ;  they  are  invulnerable, 
even  the  balls  from  the  white  man's  rifle  flattening  them- 
selves upon  them,  —  not  because  their  hides  are  any 
tougher  than  the  others,  but  l^ecause  they  are  protected 
by  a  mysterious  charm.  According  to  these  trustworthy 
accounts  some  poor  woman  is  compelled  to  act  as  com- 
panion and  servant  to  these  fearful  brutes.  All  day  long 
she  grinds  the  meal,  grates  the  cassava,  and  prepares  the 
food  for  her  master.  Should  she  endeavor  to  escape  she 
is  immediately  torn  to  pieces ;  and  that  is  the  reason,  so 
these  imperturbable  liars  assert,  that  not  one  of  them  has 
ever  been  seen  to  come  back. 

I  should  never  end  were  I  to  tell  you  all  the  stories  I 
heard  that  night,  for,  spurred  on  by  Thursday,  each  man 
present  wished  to  add  his  experience  with  haunted  goril- 
las to  the  general  testimony.  T  have  told  enough  to  show 
the  character  of  the  people  among  whom  I  was.  Given 
two  possible  explanations  of  an  occurrence,  one  simple 
and  the  other  of  a  marvellous  nature,  the  negro  will 
choose  the  latter  every  time,  not  from  a  desire  to  deceive 
but  simply  to  gratify  his  Tivid  imagination.  So  you  see 
a  traveller  must  take  their  statements,  even  on  subjects 
pertaining  to  their  own  country,  which  they  ought  to 
know  best,  with  a  very  large  grain  of  salt. 

In  spite  of  my  wish  to  bring  the  conversation  round  to 


28  HUNTING  IN    THE  JUNGLE. 

the  luibite.  of  the  gorilla  that  I  intended  to  hunt,  on  this 
my  iir.st  niglit  in  camp  I  could  not  lead  the  negroes  away 
from  the  attractive  subject  of  haunted  gorillas,  and  the 
lono-  evenino;  was  filled  with  tales  of  them  alone.  Wearied 
with  my  useless  efforts,  I  threw  myself  on  a  mat  in  the 
chief's  hut  and  was  soon  fast  asleep,  lulled  by  the  voices 
of  the  natives,  who  continued  their  endless  stories  till 
after  midnight. 


ALL    DAY    LONG    SHE    GKINDS    THE    MEAL. 


CHAPTER   III. 


MY    FIRST    GORILLA. 


]T  daybreak  Thursday  aroused  me,  and  after  a 
cup  of  black  coffee,  prepared  by  his  wife,  we 
took  up  our  march  through  a  vast  plain, 
broken  here  and  there  by  clumps  of  palms  lifting  their 
tall  heads  amidst  fields  of  maize  and  corn.  Through 
the  foliage  we  caught  glimpses  of  hazy  mountains  far 
away  on  the  horizon.  My  guide  said  they  were  wooded 
hills,  the  haunt  of  gorillas  and  elephants,  where  he  had 
always  found  plenty  of  game. 

Nothing  can  be  more  lovely  than  the  African  forests 
early  in  the  morning.  We  were  threading  narrow  trails, 
hardly  disturbed  by  the  bare  feet  of  the  native  hunters, 
between  endless  hedges  of  banana  and  young  palm  trees 
covered  with  their  golden  and  savory  fruit ;  while  be- 
tween their  trunks  we  could  see  long  stretches  of  green, 
wavy  grass,  soft  as  velvet  in  the  morning  light. 

Soon  the  cultivation  ceased,  and  the  land  for  miles  was 
covered  with  pepper-plant  and  flowering  tulip,  filled  with 
brilliant  paroquets  that  flew  away  with  sharp  notes  at 
our  approach.     On  all  sides  of  us,  and  within  a  space  a 


32 


HUNTING   IN    TJU'J  JUNGLE. 


few  hundred  yards  square,  were  all  the  most  singular 
tropical  varieties  of  the  equatorial  flora.  If  I  had  fol- 
lowed shnply  my  tastes  I  should  immediately  have  given 


A    MONKEY,    SOME    FOWLS,    AND    A    BUNCH    OF    BANANAS. 

up  my  plans  for  hunting  and  have  remained  in  this  bot- 
anists' paradise  adding  to  my  herbarium.  But  —  I  was 
equipped  with  rifles  and  cartridges,  and  it  was  too  late  to 
alter  the  object  of  my  journey. 


MY  FIRST  GORILLA.  33 

We  camped  that  evening  in  another  native  village,  and 
the  next  morning  really  entered  the  unbroken  forest.  It 
was  now  necessary  to  observe  the  greatest  caution,  as  at 
any  moment  we  might  meet  a  tiger,  a  panther,  or  a  gorilla. 

However,  before  night  we  arrived  without  adventure 
of  any  kind  at  the  Fan  village  whence  Thursday  came. 
The  chief,  to  whom  he  introduced  me,  shook  hands  with 
me  in  the  European  fashion  and  asked  me  if  I  had  not  a 
present  for  him !  This  was  a  sure  sign  that  civilization 
had  reached  as  far  as  this  town,  at  least.  I  gave  him  an 
old  pistol,  at  which  he  seemed  greatly  pleased,  and  told 
him  I  had  come  to  shoot  a  "man-eater."  He  promised  to 
go  with  us  the  next  morning,  and  then  invited  me  to  a 
feast  at  which  a  monkey,  some  fowls,  and  a  bunch  of 
bananas  cooked  in  the  ashes  composed  the  bill  of  fare. 
The  monkey  was  not  at  all  to  my  taste,  and  I  confined 
myself  to  the  other  dainties ;  but  the  Fans  devoured  in 
an  instant  all  that  I  left. 

We  started  early,  the  chief  and  Thursday  leading  us  up 
a  narrow  valley  in  which,  they  both  agreed,  gorillas  were 
sure  to  be  found. 

"  Have  you  ever  shot  a  gorilla  ?  "  asked  the  chief,  turn- 
ing to  me  as  we  walked  along. 

"  No,  never,"  I  replied. 

"  Then  I  will  give  you  a  bit  of  advice,"  said  he.  "  Which 
gun  are  you  going  to  use  ?  " 

"This" — pointing  to  my  rifle  —  "is  my  favorite,  for 
although  the  other  is  double-barrelled,  this  one  is  much 

3 


34  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

more  effective,  for  it  carries  an  explosive  ball.  A  wound 
from  it  is  always  fatal." 

'"'  The  white  man  is  helped  by  the  Great  Spirit,  who 
shows  him  new  ways  of  killing." 

"  I  will  show  you  its  merits  at  the  first  opportunity,"  I 
said. 

''  Ever}'  white  man  has  his  fetich  who  aids  him  to  do 
wonders;  but  he  can  do  nothing  against  the  'man-eater' 
unless  the  black  men  help  him." 

'"'  Quite  true,"  I  said ;  "  we  could  do  nothing  without 
you." 

The  chief,  at  these  words,  threw  back  his  head  and 
glanced  Mdtli  pride  at  his  followers,  for  his  vanity  was 
pleased. 

'•  Listen,"  he  said  after  a  moment.  "  As  you  have 
never  hunted  the  gorilla,  I  will  speak  words  of  wisdom 
to  you." 

"  Believe  me,  I  will  give  it  my  best  attention,  chief." 

"  It  is  not  difficult  to  kill  a  gorilla.  One  bullet  in  his 
breast,  and  he  is  dead." 

"  So  I  have  already  heard  ;  but  I  am  very  glad  to  have 
this  confirmation  of  it  from  an  authority  and  a  great 
chief." 

The  old  man  looked  at  me  with  intense  satisfaction. 
With  these  few  words  I  had  made  a  friend  forever. 

"  But  you  must  not  miss  him,"  he  continued,  "  for  he 
will  not  give  you  a  second  chance." 

"That's    so,"    said   my  guide,  as   he   translated    this. 


MY  FIRST   GORILLA.  35 

"You  could  not  get  your  second  gun  from  the  boy  before 
he  would  be  upon  you,  and  you  would  be  crushed  to  a 

jelly." 

At  that  moment  the  whole  line,  as  if  instinctively, 
came  to  a  halt.  The  native  guide  leading  us  gave  a 
simial  as  ag;reed. 

'•In  which  direction?"  the  chief  signed. 

The  guide  pointed  ahead  of  us,  a  little  to  the  right, 
toward  a  clump  of  tall  trees. 

"Wait  for  me  here,"  said  the  chief,  with  that  sharp 
tone  of  command  which  he  knew  so  well  how  to  assume 
toward  his  men.     Then,  turning  to  me,  — 

"  Let  the  white  captain  follow  me." 

No  sooner  had  my  interpreter  translated  this  to  me 
than  the  chief  dropped  on  all  fours  and  began  to  crawl 
in  the  direction  the  scout  had  indicated.  I  followed  suit, 
feeling  that  I  was  on  the  eve  of  a  new  and  exciting 
experience. 

For  five  minutes,  that  seemed  an  age,  I  saw  the  chief 
moving  slowly  without  the  least  noise,  parting  the  under- 
brush with  his  hands,  and  holding  it  one  side  until  I  too 
had  passed.  Suddenly  he  stopped,  half  raised  himself, 
and  seemed  to  centre  all  his  attention  on  a  point  in  space 
beyond  the  close  curtain  of  foliage  in  front  of  us.  My 
heart  beat  in  great  throbs.  Finally  he  made  me  a  sign  to 
approach,  and  I,  in  turn,  cast  a  rapid  glance  through  the 
forest.  I  felt  my  hair  stand  on  end  as,  at  the  end  of  a 
little  clearing,  I  saw  seated  on  a  leafy  hut  an  enormous 


36  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

gorilla,  sniffing  the  air  and  rolling   his   angry  eyes   in 
every  direction. 

It  was  my  first  sight  of  this  curious  and  terrible 
animal,  —  the  main  cause  of  my  journey  and  explorations. 
You  would  have  said  that  he  scented  the  danger,  for 
his  eyes  searched  the  leafy  screen  behind  which  we  were 
crouching  with  a  singularly  ferocious  glance  that  clearly 
showed  he  did  not  for  an  instant  mistake  the  direction 
from  which  his  enemy  was   coming. 

The  old  chief,  used  as  he  was  to  this  sight,  took  it 
coolly  enough ;  but  a  profound  astonishment,  coupled 
with  a  certain  kind  of  terror,  literally  transfixed  me 
to  the  spot.  I  did  not  expect  to  see  an  animal  of 
such  terrible  proportions  and  ferocity,  and  it  was  one 
of  the  rarest  experiences  of  my  long  life  of  travel 
and  adventure  to  find  the  reality  far  exceed  my  wildest 
imagination. 

Erect,  his  head  thrust  forward,  beating  his  chest  with 
his  long  arms,  he  gave  three  mighty  roars,  in  which  that 
tone  peculiar  to  wild  beasts  was  curiously  mingled  with  a 
human  cry  that  might  have  come  from  one  of  our  own 
throats.  Then  he  uttered  a  series  of  growls,  deep  and 
heavy,  louder  at  first,  running  down  the  scale,  and  dimin- 
ishing in  volume  like  a  clap  of  thunder  rolling  away  in 
the  distance. 

Suddenly  the  shrill  note  of  a  paroquet  sounded  near 
us.  The  gorilla  stopped  short  in  astonishment.  Instinc- 
tively I  raised  my  head  to  see  on  which  branch  this  daring 


AX    ENORMOUS    GORILLA,    ROLLING    HIS    ANGKY    EYES    IN    EVERY    DIRECTION. 


MY  FIRST  GORILLA.  30 

bird  was  perched,  I  saw  nothing  ;  but  when  the  note 
was  repeated,  I  realized  that  I  had  been  deceived  by  an 
admirable  imitation,  and  that  the  old  chief  had  used  this 
signal  to  call  his  hunters  around  us  again. 

However  skilful  the  Fan  chief  was  in  cheating  me,  he 
evidently  had  not  deceived  the  gorilla,  for  his  fury  re- 
doubled. At  this  instant  the  natives  joined  us,  crawling 
through  the  dense  undergrowth  as  we  had  done. 

"Chief,"  said  Thursday,  in  a  whisper  so  low  it  hardly 
reached  me,  "  the  brute  has  already  detected  us." 

"  How  do  you  know  that  ?  "  said  I,  softly. 

"Look!"  he  replied;  "his  nostrils  quiver  with  anger 
as  he  scents  us,  and  his  cruel  eye  never  leaves  our 
shelter." 

"Then  why  does  he  not  attack  us  ?     Is  he  afraid?" 

"Fear!  The  man-eater?  You'll  not  believe  that 
Ions;." 

"Why  does  he  wait,  either  to  run  or  fight?"  As  I 
whispered  these  words  the  old  chief  made  me  a  sign, 
urging  me  to  silence.  The  furious  cries  and  roars  of  the 
gorilla  grew  louder  and  fiercer.  It  was  plain,  even  to  so 
inexperienced  a  hunter  as  myself,  that  something  unusual 
was  about  to  happen.  The  monster  gnashed  his  tremen- 
dous teeth,  shaking  with  rage,  but  did  not  leave  his 
hut-roof.  For  the  twentieth  time  I  asked  myself  the 
double  question,  "  Why  do  we  not  give  him  a  shot,  or 
why  does  he  not  get  away  from  us?"  A  dozen  times  I 
raised  my  rifle,  —  the  one  carrying  the  explosive  ball,  — 


40 


HUNTING   IN    THE  JUNGLE. 


and  a  dozen  times  tlie  chief  tlirew  up  the  barrel.  I  did 
not  have  to  wait  long  for  a  solution  of  the  mystery.  As 
I    was   watching  our  enemy  with   the  closest   attention. 


SHE    SPRAXG   FROM    HER   SHELTER   HOLDING   A   LITTLE    GORILLA. 

faschiated  by  the  strange  sight,  Thursday  made  me  a 
sign  to  look  lower.  I  obeyed  mechanically,  and  saw,  with 
a  shudder  of  horror,  a  second  gorilla's  head  emerging 
from  the  foliage  which  shaded  the  hut. 


MY  FIRST  GORILLA.  41 

"  That  is  the  female,"  said  Thursday.  "  Now  you  see 
why  the  gorilla  did  not  attack  us.  He  is  in  a  tremen- 
dous rage  because,  in  spite  of  his  repeated  calls,  he  cannot 
make  his  companion  listen." 

••  What  does  he  want  ?  " 

"  He  wants  to  see  her  safe  in  the  forest,  and  then  he 
will  come  and  settle  his  account  with  us.  But  she  is 
undoubtedly  suckling  her  young,  and  does  not  wish  to 
come  from  her  retreat,  especially  without  knowing  exactly 
which  way  to  turn  to  put  her  offspring  in  safety." 

In  a  few  moments  she  seemed  to  decide,  for  with  a 
single  bound  she  sprang  from  her  shelter  holding  a  little 
gorilla,  hardly  more  than  a  few  days  old,  in  her  arms. 
Evidently  the  little  animal  had  been  the  cause  of  her  hesi- 
tation and  delay.  Her  remarkable  intelligence  showed 
her  almost  instantly  on  which  side  the  danger  lay,  and 
facing  round,  she  sprang  into  the  forest  without  a  cry. 

Her  departure  was  saluted  by  a  roar  from  the  male 
more  terrible  even  than  its  predecessors.  I  felt  my  hair 
stand  on  end,  as  it  well  might  before  so  remarkable  a 
sisfht. 

At  a  word  from  the  chief,  Thursday  said,  "Do  you 
want  to  kill  him  ? " 

I  made  a  quick  gesture  of  assent. 

"  Then,"  said  he,  with  a  glance  at  the  chief,  "  we  must 
show  ourselves  at  once,  or  he  will  escape." 

We  stepped  quickly  out  into  the  clearing  toward  the 
brute,  who  stopped  on  seeing  us  coming. 


42  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

"  Don't  shoot  until  I  give  the  word/'  Avhispered  the 
chief.  It  was  not  a  time  to  dispute  such  a  singuhir  com- 
mand, so  I  merely  waited  with  my  gun  ready. 

The  monster  was  about  fifty  paces  in  front  of  us,  and  I 
could  easily  have  shot  him  where  he  stood,  but  resisted 
the  temptation.  Whenever  I  have  hunted  in  Africa  with 
the  native  chiefs  I  have  always  made  it  a  rule  to  follow 
their  suggestions  implicitly,  —  with  due  regard,  of  course, 
to  my  own  personal  safety.  You  can  be  prett}'  sure  that 
these  men,  used  as  they  are  to  the  wild  beasts  in  their 
forests,  will  not  give  unnecessary  advice  ;  and  I  have 
always  found  it  paid  in  the  end. 

The  gorilla  had  dropped  upon  all  fours,  —  the  attitude 
in  which  he  travels  most  easily,  —  but  sight  of  us  re- 
newed liis  fury  in  an  instant.  He  stood  erect  on  his  long 
limbs,  and  with  a  roar  that  shook  the  forest,  advanced 
slowly,  but  without  hesitation,  toward  us,  beating  his 
breast  with  his  arms.  This  seemed  a  favorite  gesture 
with  him,  for  in  the  ten  minutes  we  had  been  watching 
him  he  had  three  times  made  use  of  it.  I  cannot  better 
describe  the  noise  accompanying  it  than  to  compare  it  to 
the  native  tam-tams,  as  played  in  the  funeral  processions. 
He  struck  his  chest  tremendous  blows  in  a  rhythmical  way, 
broken  by  perfect  roulades  of  roars,  and  his  eyes  flashed 
fire.  The  chief  made  me  a  courteous  sign  that  he  gave 
me  the  first  shot  ;  and  Thursday,  translating,  said  : 
"  Wait  until  he  has  passed  the  trunk  of  that  palm  ;  and 
above  all,  do  not  miss  him  !  " 


MY  FIRST  GORILLA. 


43 


The  tree  he  meant  was  not  more  than  twenty  paces 
from  ns.  I  raised  my  rifle  carefully ;  the  gorilla  was 
approaching   us.     I   aimed   full    at   his  breast  ;    he    had 


I  AIMED   FULL  AT   HIS  BREAST. 


hardly  crossed  the  line  when  my  rifle-shot  rang  through 
the  forest,  and  the  huge  brute  fell  without  a  cry. 
The  report  had  been  deafening.     I  sprang  forward  to 


44  HUNTING   IN   TIIIC  JUNGLE. 

see  the  effect  of  the  explosive  ball,  but  Thursday  held  me 
back. 

"  Look  out,"  he  cried  ;  ''  he  may  yet  have  some  life  in 
him ;  and  one  blow  from  his  talon-like  fingers  would  lay 
you  open  like  a  squirrel." 

The  advice  was  too  good  to  be  disregarded,  though 
from  my  experience  in  shooting  with  this  terrible  form  of 
ammunition  I  felt  sure  he  was  dead;  for  I  never  have 
seen  an  animal  live  if  the  ball  once  reaches  him.  And 
indeed  this  case  proved  no  exception  ;  the  gorilla  was 
dead. 

When  the  natives  saw  the  terrible  wound  which  he  had 
received,  they  looked  at  my  rifle  with  frightened  glances, 
and  began  to  whisper  together. 

"  What  do  they  say  ?  "  I  asked  Thursday. 

^'  That  they  would  give  twelve  slaves  for  such  an  arm." 

Such  envy  did  not  please  me  at  all.  How  many  trav- 
ellers have  been  killed  in  Central  Africa  precisely  on 
account  of  their  too  tempting  fire-arms !  I  immediately 
hit  upon  a  device  to  protect  at  once  my  rifle  and  myself. 
I  happened  to  have  in  my  belt  a  line  of  empty  cartridges 
to  be  used  for  small  game,  and  to  be  loaded  with  what- 
ever charge  of  powder  and  ball  the  animal  I  was  after  re- 
quired. I  loaded  my  rifle  rather  ostentatiously  with  one 
of  these  cartridges,  capped  only,  and  handing  it  to  the 
chief  himself,  I  stepped  about  a  yard  from  the  end  of  the 
barrel  and  asked  him  to  fire  at  me,  aiming  at  my  heart. 
As  he  hesitated,  I  said  to  him  :  "  Do  as  I  bid,  for  the  rifle 


MY  FIRST   GORILLA.  45 

cannot  harm  me ;  it  is  a  fetich,  and  only  kills  in  my 
hands." 

I  fancy  Thursday  translated  this  literally,  for  the  old 
chief  raised  the  rifle  at  once  and  pulled  the  trigger. 
There  was  the  faint  report  of  the  cap,  and  that  was  all. 
M'Yenga  returned  the  rifle  hastily;  and  he  and  the  other 
natives,  as  if  fearful  lest  some  of  its  evil  influence  should 
affect  them,  moved  off  to  a  respectful  distance.  Super- 
stition has  such  a  hold  on  this  people  that  not  one  of 
them  would  have  accepted  as  a  gift  the  gun  that  a  mo- 
ment before  they  all  coveted.     I  was  safe  on  that  score. 

On  measuring  the  gorilla,  we  found  his  waist  nearly 
two  yards  in  circumference,  proving  him  to  be  one  of  the 
largest  of  his  species.  I  asked  Thursday  why  the  chief 
had  not  allowed  me  to  shoot  the  female,  leaving  the 
hunters  to  fire  simultaneously  upon  the  male,  so  that 
we  might  take  the  little  one  alive  and  try  to  bring 
it  up  on  cow's  milk  and  make  our  first  experiment  in 
domesticating  the  gorilla.  Of  course  I  said  nothing  to 
them  about  the  scientific  interest  in  such  an  experiment, 
for  science  was  a  dead  letter  to  them ;  but  I  promised  a 
liberal  reward  to  any  one  who  should  bring  me  a  young 
gorilla  alive.  They  all  assured  me  that  that  was  easy 
enough,  but  that  without  its  mother  it  could  not  live 
more  than  three  or  four  days ;  that  the  leopard  or  tiger 
could  be  tamed,  but  never  the  gorilla,  etc. ;  but  it  all 
seemed  hearsay,  and  not  one  of  the  hunters  spoke  from 
personal  experience.     Thursday  explained  that  if  I  had 


4C)  HUNTING   IN    THE  JUNdLE. 

aimed  at  and  missed  the  female  we  should  have  had  two 
irorillas  instead  of  one  to  ti^ht,  and  that  there  would 
have  certainly  been  a  loss  of  life ;  and  that  he  could  get 
me  a  young  gorilla  imniediately .  He  failed  to  fulfil  this 
promise,  however,  for  it  is  not  at  all  easy  to  get  one  of 
these  young  animals,  whom  the  parents  defend  fiercely 
with  their  lives.  Chance,  often  more  to  be  depended  on 
than  the  most  persistent  efforts,  brought  about  my  wish, 
but  long  after  this  first  hunt,  which  proved  conclusively 
that  this  species  of  gorilla  builds  a  rude  hut,  and  that  the 
male,  when  it  shelters  his  offspring,  sits  like  a  sentinel 
upon  its  roof  to  watch  over  his  young.  It  also  seemed 
settled  beyond  a  doubt,  from  what  I  was  told  and  had 
myself  seen,  that  the  gorilla  attacks  man  without  hesita- 
tion at  sight  and  without  waiting  to  be  wounded,  while 
the  female  attends  entirely  to  the  safety  of  her  yoinig 
without  a  thought  of  fighting. 

We  camped  a  whole  day  here  for  me  to  preserve  and 
mount  the  gorilla's  head.  The  natives  divided  the  flesh 
among  themselves,  broiling  it  over  the  hot  coals  and 
eating  it  half  raw.  Try  as  I  would,  for  I  should  have 
been  glad  to  learn  the  taste  of  this  singular  meat,  I  could 
not  overcome  my  repugnance  to  this  half-human  flesh. 
The  brain  was  not  eaten,  but  carefully  wrapped  in  banana 
leaf  and  sent  back  to  the  medicine-men  of  the  village,  who 
make  from  it,  the  old  chief  informed  me,  a  magic  oint- 
ment of  most  marvellous  virtue  to  protect  from  all  evil, 
especially  from    the    evil   influence  of  the  man-eater.     I 


THIS    GORILLA   BUILDS   A   KUDE    HUT. 


MY  FIRST  GORILLA.  49 

looked  him  square  in  the  face.  The  old  hypocrite  never 
winced,  and  ended  his  remarks  with  a  fresh  demand  for 
rum,  of  which  I  gave  him  a  very  modest  amount,  dividing 
what  was  left  in  my  flask  between  him  and  Thursday. 

The  first  gorilla  had  fallen ;  the  chief  had  fulfilled  his 
promise ;  and  nothing  remained  but  to  return  to  the  vil- 
lage and  end  the  chase.  I  made  the  chief  the  presents 
I  had  agreed  to,  adding  a  little  keg  of  rum  for  the  other 
natives  who  had  accompanied  me,  and  I  stayed  with 
them  a  week.  When  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  depart 
the  chiefs  collected  to  bid  me  farewell ;  and  then  came  a 
ceremony  which,  among  the  Fans,  celebrates  the  adop- 
tion of  a  stranger  by  the  tribe.  The  old  chief  held  my 
arm,  and  pricking  it  lightly  with  a  thorn,  drew  a  drop 
of  blood.  He  then  did  the  same  to  his  own  ;  whereupon 
another  chief  took  these  two  drops  of  blood  upon  two 
little  reeds  and  transferred  them,  his  to  mine  and  mine 
to  his  arm.  "  Now,"  said  the  chief,  "■  you  are  their 
white  brother,  for  you  have  become  my  son.  Wherever 
you  may  travel  among  the  Fan  tribes  you  will  be  re- 
ceived as  one  of  us."  Among  all  peoples  of  a  rude  de- 
gree of  civilization  this  queer  custom  of  adoption  exists, 
with  different  ceremonies  but  the  same  general  idea;  and 
it  appears  even  later  among  more  civilized  races  in  the 
gift  of  the  freedom  of  the  city.  There  is  no  longer  an 
interchange  of  blood,  but  it  is  still  the  adoption  of  a 
stranger.  I  have  already  alluded  to  the  fact  that,  dur- 
ing my  stay   in   the  village,  although   all   the   hunters 


50  HUNTING  IN  THE  JUNGLE. 

endeavored  to  obtain  my  offered  reward,  not  one  was 
able  to  catch  a  young  gorilla  for  me,  and  that  it  was  to 
chance  I  finally  owed  the  possession  of  one. 

On  leaving  my  Fan  friends  I  had  told  Thursday  of  my 
plan  to  travel  toward  the  river  Rembo,  striking  it  about 
the  spot  where,  making  a  sudden  turn  at  right  angles,  it 
flows  swiftly  northward  and,  fifty  or  sixty  miles  away, 
plunges  into  the  sea.  I  had  been  told  that  this  country 
was  full  of  gorillas  and  every  variety  of  monkey.  As  the 
neighborhood  of  the  coast  was  unhealthy,  because  of  the 
large  number  of  marshes  there,  we  turned  east  and  jour- 
neyed through  higher  wooded  lands.  These  forests  are 
the  haunts  of  numerous  small  game,  —  deer,  hare,  and 
wild  fowl, — in  such  numbers  that  it  precluded  the  danger 
of  hunger. 

Five  days  after  my  departure  we  had  struck  the  light 
tent  that  I  always  used  in  the  woods, —  for  nothing  is  more 
unhealthy  than  the  night  dews  in  the  African  forests,  — 
and  I  was  walking  ahead  talking  with  Thursday ;  behind 
us  came  his  wife  and  boy,  and,  behind  them,  my  five 
porters,  humming  an  air  in  their  nasal  tones  in  time  to 
their  step,  like  sailors  w^io  join  in  a  refrain  as  they 
stamp  round  the  capstan.  Suddenly  Thursday  stopped, 
making  us  a  sign  to  do  the  same.  I  was  carrying  my 
rifle  on  my  shoulder,  but  as  quick  as  thought  I  dropped 
the  barrel  into  my  left  hand  and  stood  ready.  It  does 
not  do  ever  to  be  surprised  in  these  woods,  and  a  second's 
hesitation  often  costs  dear. 


MY  FIRST  GORILLA.  51 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  said  I,  quickly. 

"  Did  you  not  hear  that  cry  ?  " 

''Well?" 

"  It  was  that  of  a  young  gorilla  calling  its  dam." 

''  Are  you  sure  ? " 

"  Perfectly.  Be  ready  to  shoot.  Either  the  old  gorilla 
is  too  far  away  to  hear,  or  she  does  not  suspect  our 
presence.  I  hear  no  rustling  of  the  leaves.  Come,  but 
be  careful."  We  two  had  advanced  hardly  breathing.  A 
second  cry,  a  little  ahead  of  us,  pierced  the  silence  of  the 
forest.  I  was  so  excited  that  it  seemed  as  though  my 
heart  beat  audibly.  Thursday  still  preceded  me.  Sud- 
denly I  heard  him  pronounce  the  two  words,  ''  Look 
out !  "  and  I  saw  him  raise  his  gun  quickly  and  fire, 
and  before  I  had  time  to  turn  round,  a  shiny  black. 
mass  covered  with  blood  hurled  itself  upon  my  guide. 
Quick  as  thought  I  drew  my  revolver  and  blew  the 
gorilla's  brains  out  at  the  instant  when  he  was  about  to 
garrote  poor  Thursday. 

The  guide,  who  was  not  hurt,  with  the  exception  of  a 
few  scratches  on  his  shoulder,  had  sprung  up  and,  with  a 
triumphant  shout,  seized  a  little  gorilla  by  the  nape  of 
the  neck  and  handed  it  to  me.  Imagine  my  pleasure,  for 
I  had  almost  given  up  hope  of  ever  getting  a  really  young 
gorilla  alive.  I  could  not  resist  reproving  Thursday, 
however,  telling  him  that  he  had  run  a  great  risk ;  for  had 
I  not  been  within  five  feet  of  him  I  could  never  have 
made   my  prompt  shot   before   the   gorilla   would   have 


52  HUNTING  IN    THE  JUNGLE. 

twisted  his  neck  for  him.  I  was  so  excited  that  I  should 
have  quite  forgotten  to  thank  Thursday  for  having  thus 
in  cold  blood  risked  his  life  to  satisfy  a  wish  which  to 
him  must  have  seemed  a  mere  whim,  when  he  recalled 
me  to  the  situation  l)y  saying  quietly,  — 

"  The  white  captain  is  good  ;  he  will  give  his  slave  the 
reward,  as  agreed." 

"  What  reward  ?  "  cried  I,  in  astonishment. 

"  Did  not  the  captain  promise  the  Fans  that  he  would 
give  a  double-barrelled  hunting-gun  and  a  keg  of  rum  to 
any  one  of  them  bringing  him. a  young  man-eater  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"  Well,  Thursday  is  a  Fan,  and  has  brought  you  such  a 
prize." 

"  And  3'OU  ask  me  to  pay  you,  therefore  —  " 

"  What  you  promised." 

"All  right,  so  be  it.  I  prefer  a  business  view  of  it 
mj'Self.  Here  are  the  gun  and  proper  ammunition,  for  of 
course  they  go  together  ;  but  I  do  not  propose  to  give 
you  all  the  rum  at  once." 

"  The  white  chief  is  generous  and  great,  but  why 
not?" 

"  Because  you  are  in  my  service,  engaged  for  the  entire 
trip,  and  I  don't  propose  to  have  you  drunk  or  your 
faculties  muddled  for  the  next  week  or  so,  as  you  know 
you  would  be.  If  you  like,  however,  I  will  give  you  a 
glass  every  day  until  you  have  had  the  whole  keg.  'If 
you  don't  like  this  plan,  I  will,  instead,  give  you  the 


THE    GUIDE,    WITH    A    TKIUMPIIANT    SHOUT,    SEIZED    THE    LITTLE    GORILLA    BV 
THE    NAPE    OF   THE   NECK. 


MV  FIRST  GORILLA.  55 

entire  keg  when  we  reach  Cape  Lopez  at  the  end  of  the 
trip. 

"■  I  prefer  the  latter,"  he  decided. 

I  was  afraid  for  a  moment  that  this  might  set  discon- 
tent at  work  in  the  African's  head.  But  I  was  mistaken, 
quite.  The  African  does  nothing  for  nothing.  He  has 
no  idea  of  devotion  in  putting  himself  into  danger ;  he 
simply  wishes  to  get  a  keg  of  fire-water  upon  which  to 
become  drunk  at  his  leisure  ;  and  Thursday  appreciated 
my  right  to  his  entire  energy  and  wit  to  guide  our 
little  caravan  through  a  country  where  danger  is  the 
rule. 

At  last  I  had  my  young  gorilla ;  and  I  began  at  once  his 
education  by  whipping  him  gently  with  a  bit  of  banyan 
wood,  which  frightened  him  so  that  he  left  off  biting  at 
me  immediately ! 

I  could  not  carry  out  my  experiments  while  we  were  on 
the  march,  so  I  decided  to  camp  a  few  days  in  the  first 
village  we  came  to,  which  happened  to  be  Stromb}-,  a 
rather  important  town  twenty-five  or  thirty  kilometres 
east  of  Rembo.  The  king  of  the  country  had  already 
met  a  number  of  white  traders  who  had  come  thither 
for  ivory  ;  and  he  received  me  in  a  most  friendly  manner, 
and  announced  to  his  subjects  assembled  that  I  was  "  his 
brother  "  and  was  to  be  respected  as  such.  This  done,  he 
gave  me  his  hand,  which  is  a  sign  not  to  be  misunder- 
stood, as  it  stands  for  the  same  thing  in  every  countr}'  of 
whatever  deo-ree  of  civilization  under  the  sun. 


56  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

I  presented  liim  with  ;i  revolver  and  a  music-box,  and 
although  lie  was  pleased  with  the  former,  the  latter  de- 
lighted his  soul.  Tying  it  round  his  neck  he  went  up 
and  down  through  the  village  turning  the  crank  and 
followed  by  a  wondering  crowd  of  his  subjects  of  both 
sexes,  uttering  cries  of  astonishment  and  pleasure.  Hav- 
ing thus  assured  my  position  and  treatment  in  the  village 
I  could  turn  my  attention  to  attempts  at  civilizing  my 
ugly  pet. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

DOMESTICATING   MY    GORILLA. 

HAD  my  men  build  a  strong  cage  of  bamboo, 
and  in  it  I  put  the  little  beggar  on  a  bed  of 
dried  leaves.  This  was  no  easy  job,  for,  his 
first  fright  over,  the  fierce  little  brute  distributed  right 
and  left  cuffs  and  bites,  until  the  ingenious  Thursday 
hit  on  a  way  of  somewhat  disarming  him.  While  two 
men  held  him  down  and  a  third  pinioned  his  head  in 
a  crotch,  Thursday  cut  his  claws  short.  His  teeth  were 
now  his  only  weapons  of  attack ;  but  of  these  he  made 
right  good  use,  as  many  of  the  men's  legs  and  arms  can 
testify. 

Thursday  thinking  it  necessary  to  name  him,  I  selected 
"Joseph,"  by  antithesis  ;  for  the  great  men  in  history  who 
have  borne  this  name  have  been  models  of  gentleness,  and 
my  young  friend  could  hardly  be  said  to  follow  their  illus- 
trious example.  During  the  first  days  of  his  captivity  I 
gave  him  the  purest  water,  the  finest  bananas,  fragrant 
leaves,  and  pineapples.  But  in  vain ;  he  would  touch 
nothing.  But  one  fine  morning  I  found  that  his  supply 
of  food  had  been  materially  reduced  and  that  his  water- 
butt  was   empty.     Hunger  had  evidently  got  the  better 


58  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

of  his  obstinacy,  and  I  thought  it  an  opportune  moment 
to  begin  to  accustom  him  to  my  presence  and  voice. 

When  he  saw  me  he  drew  back  into  the  furthest  corner 
of  his  cage  growling  and  showing  his  teeth ;  and  when 
I  went  round  the  outside  of  his  prison,  every  time  that  I 
came  near  him  he  would  spring  across  to  the  other  side, 
and  if  I  put  my  hand  between  the  bars  to  stroke  him  he 
darted  with  open  mouth  at  it,  and  I  had  just  time  to 
withdraw  it  quickly  to  avoid  his  terrible  fangs. 

In  spite  of  his  youth  his  set  of  teeth  was  complete,  and 
he  only  lacked  strength  of  jaw  to  be  dangerous.  One 
morning,  while  trying  to  escape,  —  an  attempt  which  he 
made  whenever  the  cage  was  opened,  —  he  bit  a  piece  out 
of  a  man's  shoulder,  wounding  him  severely. 

He  never  ate  except  at  night ;  and  finding  I  was  ac- 
complishing nothing,  and  not  wishing  to  end  my  days  at 
Stromby,  I  decided  to  change  my  tactics  and  try  starva- 
tion. When  I  saw  he  was  growing  thin  with  hunger  I 
again  approached  him  with  bits  of  wild  sugar-cane  and 
young  pineapple  plants,  of  which  I  had  noticed  he  was 
exceedingly  fond.  He  watched  me,  growling  as  before, 
but  I  noticed  he  glanced  with  a  certain  longing  at  the 
fruit  I  offered  him,  and  I  felt  confident  of  final  success. 
Sure  enough,  after  several  hours  of  repeating  this  offer 
Joseph  came  softly  to  the  end  of  the  cage  where  I  stood, 
put  his  arm  outside,  and  grabbed  a  piece  of  sugar-cane, 
retiring  immediately  to  the  other  side,  where  he  ate  it. 
The  next  day  he  satisfied  his  hunger,  taking  everything 


DOMESTICATING  MY   GORILLA. 


59 


that  I  offered  him  direct  from  my  hand,  but  not  allowing 
me  to  touch  him  any  more  than  on  the  previous  days. 
Wishing  to  pass  my  hand  along  the  tawny  hair  of  his 


yy-    i 


HUNTING   A   GORILLA. 


back,  he  made  a  vicious  bite  at  my  hand  which  I  only  just 
escaped.  And  this  was  all  I  could  obtain.  As  long  as  I 
had  food  for  him  he  would  remain  near,  but  when  I  had 


60  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

notliing  further  to  offer  liiin  he  drew  back  growlmg  and 
making  fearful  faces. 

One  day,  while  they  were  changing  his  bed,  he  sprang 
upon  the  negro  as  he  opened  the  cage,  bit  liini  cruelly, 
and  darted  out.  I  saw  it  all,  but  it  happened  so  quickly 
that  I  had  no  time  to  interfere,  while  Joseph  made  tracks 
for  the  woods.  I  set  up  a  shout ;  and  the  natives,  armed 
with  stones  and  javelins,  arranged  themselves  in  line 
across  his  way.  When  he  saw  he  could  not  get  through, 
he  made  a  dash  for  a  lofty  tree  Avhich  shot  its  straight 
trunk  ninety  feet  into  the  air,  and  began  to  climb  it,  — 
with  less  agility  than  he  would  have  displayed  if  Thursday 
had  not  cut  his  claws,  but  still  quickly  enough  to  be  out  of 
reach  before  the  natives  could  get  to  the  foot  of  the  tree. 
I  watched  him  go  up,  not  without  a  certain  amount  of 
curiosity,  as  from  time  to  time  he  stopped  to  growl  at  us 
and  then,  with  a  defiant  glance,  go  on.  When  he  reached 
the  top  of  the  tree  he  hid  in  the  clump  of  foliage  that 
crowned  it,  and  gave  no  sign  of  life.  One  of  the  natives 
offered,  for  a  small  reward,  to  go  up  after  him ;  and  as  I 
had  not  yet  given  up  all  hope  of  success,  I  promised  "it 
him.  The  negro  began  to  climb,  slowly  enougli,  the  slip- 
pery trunk,  and  all  went  well  for  the  first  half  of  the  way. 
Round  his  waist  he  carried  one  of  my  fish-nets,  which, 
when  he  reached  the  top,  he  thought  he  could  easily 
throw  over  the  gorilla,  and  catch  him  without  serious 
risk  to  himself.  When  he  had  climbed  a  little  over  half 
way  up,  we  saw  tlie  young  gorilla  come  out  of  his  hiding- 


A   STKLGGLK    lOK   LIFJE. 


DOMESTICATING  MY  GORILLA.  63 

place,  and  leaning  far  out  and  holding  on  by  a  branch, 
watch  the  movements  of  his  advancing  enemy.  The 
sight  was  an  odd  one,  and,  as  I  heard  Joseph's  furiously 
rumbling  growls  T  began  to  see  that  the  negro  had  un- 
dertaken no  easy  task.  At  a  given  moment  he  received 
about  his  head  and  shoulders  all  the  fruit  that  master 
Joseph  could  pluck  from  the  tree,  which  in  a  few  mo- 
ments he  had  completely  despoiled,  leaving  himself  with- 
out further  ammunition.  The  native  had  dodged  a  large 
part  of  the  missiles  by  circling  the  tree,  and  as  most  of 
the  fruit  was  overripe,  he  suffered  but  little  damage. 
When  the  gorilla  could  find  nothing  further  to  throw  he 
again  took  refuge  in  the  leafy  top,  uttering  cries  of  rage 
which  promised  a  warm  reception  to  his  pursuer  when 
the  latter  should  come  within  reach  of  his  sharp  teeth. 
The  native  moved  cautiously  upward,  for  he  was  within 
a  few  feet  of  the  swaying  top,  and  the  gorilla  had  shown 
no  sign.  It  was  at  once  exciting  and  amusing.  The 
gorilla  might  spring  upon  his  enemy,  who,  under  the 
shock  and  pain  from  a  bite,  might  lose  his  hold  and  come 
toppling  down  a  hundred  feet  or  so  upon  the  ground. 
Luckily  there  was  no  such  tragic  ending.  At  the  very 
moment  when  the  hunter  cast  the  net  over  the  topmost 
branch,  upon  which  Joseph  had  perched,  the  latter  with 
the  quickness  of  thought  slid  down  the  trunk  on  the 
other  side,  and  amid  a  shout  of  laughter  from  the  crowd 
beneath,  hung  a  few  yards  below  his  pursuer.  It  took 
the  poor  fellow  fully  half  an  hour  to  disentangle  his  net 


64  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

caught  in  the  multifarious  branches,  while  the  gorilla 
watched  him  coolly.  When  the  former  began  to  descend 
the  latter  did  the  same. 

''  We  have  him,"  cried  1.  malting  signs  to  the  men  to 
silentl}^  surround  the  base  of  the  tree. 

"  Not  yet,  massa,"  replied  the  less  sanguine  Thursday, 
whose  doubt  was  justified  Ijy  wdly  Joseph,  wdio,  seeing  the 
unfriendly  circle  immediately  below  him,  went  rapidly  up 
the  tree  again,  avoiding  the  would-be  captor's  net,  and, 
in  fact,  climbing  directly  over  his  body  witliout  wasting 
time  to  bite  him  as  he  went,  and  again  taking  up  his  old 
quarters  in  the  very  top  of  the  tree.  The  native  renewed 
his  pursuit,  and  the  same  comedy  was  repeated  several 
times,  until,  from  sheer  exhaustion,  the  chase  had  to  be 
abandoned. 

The  king,  however,  suggested  a  stratagem  which 
proved  successful.  Guarding  the  tree  till  night  we 
stretched  our  net  around  the  base  of  the  tree,  with  a  man 
in  hiding  holding  its  lines.  Joseph,  thinking  the  field 
clear,  came  down  from  his  perch,  was  forthwith  captured, 
thrashed,  and  put  back  into  his  cage.  Thursday  confided 
to  me  that  this  wretched  little  monster  must  be  bewitched 
by  an  evil  spirit  and  that  I  could  never  tame  it.  What- 
ever the  cause,  his  conclusion  was  certainly  correct.  In 
spite  of  all  my  care  and  watchfulness  I  could  do  nothing 
with  his  savage  habits.  Indeed,  captivity  seemed  to  add 
each  day  to  his  intractability  and  ferocity.  He  had  come 
to   know  me,  and   wdien    he   saw  me  going  by  and  was 


I 


DOMESTICATING  MY  GORILLA.  65 

hungry  he  called  me  with  a  cry  pitched  to  a  special  key 
which  he  used  for  me  alone.  But  woe  to  me  if  I  hap- 
pened to  get  too  near  him  !  He  would  make  a  quick 
snatch  at  my  arm  or  leg,  and  I  nearly  always  left  a  piece 
of  my  clothing  in  his  possession.  I  saw  clearly  that 
these  coverings  were  not  what  he  was  really  after,  and 
that  he  would  gladly  have  buried  his  teeth  in  my  flesh, — 
an  end  which  I  took  precious  good  care  he  should  not 
accomplish. 

Every  day  the  king  repeated  to  me  his  certainty  that 
I  could  do  nothing  with  the  brute,  and  that,  as  had  been 
proved  time  and  again  by  the  natives,  he  was  sure  to  die 
within  a  month.  On  the  twenty-first  day  of  his  captivity 
Joseph  refused  all  food,  crouching  in  one  corner  of  his 
cage,  his  eyes  dull  and  mournful,  seeming  to  regard 
everything  that  went  on  round  him  without  the  least 
interest.  He  seemed  to  be  suffering  from  a  violent  fever, 
for  every  few  minutes  he  would  dart  to  his  water-butt 
and  drain  it  to  the  last  drop.  Now  I  could  touch  him 
without  his  trying  to  bite  me.  It  even  looked  as  if  he 
regarded  me,  from  his  dim,  half-closed  eyes,  with  less 
fierceness,  and  I  felt  a  kind  of  remorse  at  having  deprived 
the  poor  fellow  of  his  free  forest  life.  I  took  him  out  of 
his  cage  and  laid  him  on  a  bed  of  moss  and  leaves  in  the 
sunlight,  and  he  allowed  me  to  do  so,  like  a  child,  without 
making  any  attempt  to  escape  or  bite.  It  was  the  fifth 
day  of  his  sickness  when  he  began  to  toss  about  rest- 
lessly, and  every  now  and  then  was  seized  with  a  fit  of 


66  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

choking  which  left  him  without  strength  or  motion  on  his 
bed  of  pain.  The  natives  advised  me  to  get  rid  of  him  at 
once,  several  even  offering  themselves  to  kill  him  for  me ; 
but  I  declined.  He  was  too  human  in  his  sufferings.  In 
spite  of  his  weakness,  he  had  kept  in  the  highest  degree 
his  instinct  of  self-preservation  ;  and  at  the  slightest  move- 
ment near  him  his  eye  would  suddenly  flash  again,  as  it 
used  when  any  one  approached  him.  He  seemed,  curi- 
ously enough,  to  fear  the  blacks  much  more  than  me. 
I  surrounded  him  with  every  care  and  attention  I  could 
think  of,  convinced  that  if  he  recovered  he  would  never 
resume  toward  me  his  natural  ferocity.  But  it  was  of 
no  use ;  he  sank  hour  by  hour,  and  on  the  ninth  day  his 
death-agony  began.  I  shall  never  forget  the  painful  last 
half-hour.  Poor  Joseph,  his  head  on  my  knees,  trem- 
bling with  cold,  although  the  temperature  was  eighty, 
began  to  show  those  signs  of  approaching  death  which, 
once  seen,  can  never  be  forgotten.  The  silence  and 
solitude  around  me,  only  one  of  my  race  within  many 
miles,  and  the  night  of  the  black  forests  of  southern 
x\frica  no  doubt  all  contributed  to  give  more  importance 
than  it  deserved  to  this  pathetic  sight.  I  had  lived  in 
India  and  other  countries  where  they  believe  in  metemp- 
sychosis, so  many  years,  —  countries  where  the  right  of  ani- 
mals to  live  is  almost  as  much  respected  as  that  of  man, 
—  that  it  may  have  had  a  great  effect  on  my  thoughts  and 
ideas.  But  I  could  not  help  wondering,  as  this  poor 
animal,  so  human  in  his  death-throes,  lay  in  my  arms. 


f 


DOMESTICATING   MY  GORILLA.  69 

whether  man,  who  cannot  create  a  spear  of  grass,  has  the 
right  to  destroy  life  in  all  its  forms  around  him,  more 
often  to  satisfy  his  whim  than  his  necessity ;  and  whether 
it  really  is  his  role  here  below  to  be  continually  breaking 
those  infinitel}^  fine  links  of  the  chain  of  destiny  which 
binds  together  all  beings,  all  spheres,  and  all  worlds. 

The  next  day  I  had  the  body  buried  at  the  foot  of  a 
great  tree,  and  made  my  preparations  for  departure, 
thinking  all  the  while,  in  spite  of  myself,  of  certain 
theories  of  modern  anthropologists,  and  wondering  if  I 
had  interrupted  the  development  of  a  primate  into  a 
human  being.  After  a  few  hours'  march  I  laughed  at  the 
idea,  but  still  I  have  always  retained  a  singular  recollec- 
tion of  Joseph's  death,  so  like  that  of  a  young  child. 

Aside  from  all  question  of  sentiment,  and  to  return  to 
the  more  healthy  one  of  science,  I  may  say,  after  due 
inquiry  and  experiment,  that  I  do  not  believe  the  gorilla 
can  be  domesticated.  There  is  such  a  wild  strain  of 
ferocity  in  his  nature  that  man's  mind  can  have  no  in- 
fluence on  it.  I  tried  a  similar  experiment  on  an  older 
gorilla  which,  so  far  as  results  went,  proved  the  same  as 
the  one  I  have  already  described,  except  that  the  subject 
finally  escaped.  What  might  be  the  effect  of  confining  a 
pair  of  gorillas  and  bringing  up  their  offspring  in  the  cage 
with  them,  I  cannot  say.  After  several  generations  had 
been  brought  up  in  bondage  there  might  be  something 
accomplished.  But  I  consider  it  a  fact  beyond  question 
that  the  young  gorilla  cannot  be  tamed,  and  as  for  cap- 


70 


HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 


turing  him  alive  when  older  it  is  as  impossible  as  to  lay 
violent  hands  on  the  Bengal  tiger  or  the  African  lion ; 
to  the   latter,  indeed,  he  may  fairly  be  compared.     It  is 


I  HAD  THE  BODY  BURIED  AT  THE  FOOT  OF  A  TREE. 


an  undoubted  fact  that  the  lion,  so  common  in  other 
parts  of  Africa,  is  very  rarely  found  where  the  gorilla  is. 
They  are  no  match  for  these  terrible  enemies,  and  they 


DOMESTICATING  MY  GORILLA.  71 

run  to  cover  and  hide  wlien  his  roars  re-echo  through  the 
forests.  Even  the  elephant  gets  such  blows  and  bites 
from  him  that,  the  natives  say,  although  he  is  able  to 
cope  with  him,  he  prefers  not  to  fight.  In  the  order  of 
primates  and  even  in  his  own  family  of  anthropoids,  the 
gorilla  occupies  a  place  apart  and  seems  to  deserve  a 
special  family  for  himself.  We  have  finished  with  this 
interesting  and  mysterious  animal,  which,  looking  only 
at  his  physical  structure,  is  the  being,  in  nature,  nearest 
like  man. 


CHAPTER   V. 

HUNTING  CHIMPANZEES. 


N  this  same  family  of  anthropoids  the  chimpan- 
zee, after  the  gorilla,  is  the  monkey  most  re- 
sembling man.  He  climbs  with  much  greater 
ease  than  the  gorilla,  and  can  stand  as  straight  as  he ;  but 
when  he  wishes  to  move  he  is  obliged  to  fall  on  all  fours, 
where  the  gorilla  usually  walks  in  an  upright  position. 
Although  of  a  savage  enough  nature,  especially  when  full 
grown,  the  chimpanzee  is  readily  tamed,  and  in  this  way 
more  than  makes  up  for  his  physical  inferiority  to  the 
gorilla.  He  is  as  intelligent,  gentle,  and  social  in  his 
instincts  as  the  other  is  stupidly  fierce.  And  where  the 
latter  is  more  like  man  in  stature  and  build,  the  former 
resembles  him  even  more  in  the  quickness  of  his  intelli- 
gence and  the  gentleness  of  his  ways,  after  domestica- 
tion. When  wild  he  is  very  industrious,  building  stout 
shelters  for  himself  in  tall  trees  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet 
from  the  ground,  and  never  on  it  like  the  gorilla.  And, 
different  again  from  the  latter,  he  is  fond  of  climbing, 
and  his  gymnastic  exercises  would  make  a  professional 
acrobat  jealous.  On  my  voyage  up  the  Niger  and  on  the 
shores  of  Guinea   I   saw  crowds  of  these   animals,   and 


HUNTING   CHIMPANZEES.  73 

nearly  always  hanging  from  the  top  branches  of  the  high- 
est trees,  whence  they  watched  me  with  wonder  mingled 
with  fear.  At  the  slightest  movement  on  my  part  they 
fled  headlong,  making  dizzy  leaps  from  branch  to  branch, 
ending  in  running  to  cover  in  their  huts,  from  which  noth- 
ing would  tempt  them.  These  shelters  are  usually  in  tlie 
crotch  between  two  branches,  and  are  made  of  bamboo, 
interwoven,  and  bound  together  and  to  the  tree  very 
cleverly  with  withes.  The  roof  is  rounded  like  those  of 
the  natives'  huts,  which,  indeed,  in  all  respects,  it  is  not 
unlike.  One  curious  thing  that  I  have  often  noticed  is 
that  they  choose  a  tree  at  a  little  distance  from  its  neigh- 
bors, so  that  no  animal  can  use  the  branches  of  other  trees 
as  drawbridges  to  the  chimpanzee's  fortress.  The  ap- 
proach can  be  made  only  by  the  trunk  of  the  very  tree 
in  which  the  hut  is  built ;  and  there  is  no  funnier  sight 
than  to  see  a  family  of  chimpanzees  surprised  a  little  way 
from  home,  and  making  for  it  on  the  double-quick.  Up 
goes  the  mother  first,  one  or  two  of  her  youngest  clinging 
to  her  neck;  if  there  is  a  young  one  say  two  or  three 
years  old,  he  follows  next,  slowly  and  uttering  cries  of 
distress,  until,  as  his  strength  nearly  gives  out  and  he 
begins  to  slip  back,  his  mother  throws  one  of  her  long 
arms  back  and  grasps  him,  places  him  on  her  shoulder, 
where  he  hangs  in  desperation,  and  she  continues  her 
ascent  with  this  addition  to  her  precious  burden.  Mean- 
while the  male  has  remained  at  the  base  of  the  tree  to 
defend  his  family  on  their  retreat,  showing  his  teeth  at 


74  HUNTING  IN    THE  JUNGLE. 

all  comers  in  a  way  meant  to  be  terrifying,  but  which  is 
only  comic.  As  soon  as  his  mate  is  in  safety  he  takes 
his  turn  in  climbing  the  tree,  at  a  tremendous  pace,  and 
hiding  in  his  hut.  Now  keep  perfectly  quiet,  and  you 
will  soon  see  a  most  charming  sight.  Hearing  nothing 
further,  the  male  soon  sticks  out  his  naturally  surprised- 
looking  phiz  and  looks  around  with  an  inquisitive  glance. 
Nothing  to  be  seen  —  evidently  the  enemy  has  departed ; 
the  soft  breeze  gently  waves  the  palra  leaves,  the  gray 
squirrels  bound  from  branch  to  branch,  and  the  great 
white  herons  fan  the  air  with  heavy,  silent  wings;  the 
danger  has  passed,  and  the  moment  for  enjoyment  has 
come.  At  the  door  of  his  aerial  house  stands  the  chimpan- 
zee uttering  little  encouraging  calls  to  his  family ;  then, 
with  the  grace  of  a  gymnast  and  an  unequalled  strength, 
he  seizes  the  end  of  the  nearest  branch  and  swings  him- 
self off,  as  on  a  trapeze,  hanging  by  one  hand,  and  with 
a  leap  is  in  the  top  of  the  tree,  where  his  mate  and  such 
of  the  young  as  are  strong  enough  promptly  join  him. 
Then  the  party  indulges  in  the  wildest  gambols  and  the 
forest  resounds  with  their  joyful  cries. 

Our  climate  is  not  favorable  to  the  chimpanzee,  and  it 
is  with  great  difficulty  that  they  are  kept  alive  in  our 
menageries.  They  always  succumb  sooner  or  later  to  a 
trouble  of  the  stomach.  Although  so  easily  taught  when 
young,  they  seem  as  they  grow  older  to  lose  this  char- 
acteristic, and  become  cross  and  unsociable,  so  much  so 
that  they  often  have  to  be  killed.     I  saw  one  once  be- 


AT   THE    DOOR   OF    UlS    AERIAL    HOUSE    STANDS    THE    CHIMPANZEE. 


HUNTING   CHIMPANZEES.  'J'J 

longing  to  a  trader  of  Formosa  that  really  was  remark- 
ably well  taught  and  intelligent.  After  that  fatal  voyage 
lip  the  Niger,  when  I  left  two  thirds  of  my  party  buried 
on  its  banks,  I  spent  nearly  two  months  with  this  trader, 
a  Swiss  by  birth,  who  had  spent  years  on  the  African 
coast.  It  was  here  that  I  made  the  acquaintance  of 
Master  Jack,  a  fine  specimen  of  his  race,  —  tall,  with, 
silky  black  hair,  dashed  with  a  little  white  on  his  belly, 
and  with  a  bare,  shiny  face  that  seemed  always  well 
shaven.  Although  the  chimpanzee  generally  finds  an 
upright  position  uncomfortable  and  seldom  indulges  in 
it.  Jack  had  acquired  the  accomplishment  of  standing 
and  walking  ;  and  his  spinal  column  had  finally  devel- 
oped on  that  axis  until  he  preferred  a  vertical  position 
to  that  usually  assumed  by  his  race.  His  ears  were  large 
but  well  formed,  his  forehead  arched  and  high,  and  his 
hands  very  like  a  man's,  and  with  nails  carefully  trimmed 
by  his  native  keeper,  who  was  at  once  his  original  cap- 
tor and  teacher.  Like  all  well  brought-up  chimpanzees, 
Master  Jack  had  several  domestic  accomplishments.  He 
waited  at  table  like  a  born  butler,  would  pour  you  wine 
or  water  at  a  word,  carry  the  empty  plates  away,  and 
all  with  an  amusing,  evident  enjoyment  of  his  work 
and  an  address  and  silence  that  most  of  the  heavy-footed 
native  waiters  would  have  done  well  to  imitate. 

There  was  one  duty,  however,  that  it  would  not  do 
to  trust  to  him,  —  that  of  bringing  in  the  fruit  at  dessert. 
His  training  had  rather  added  to  than    diminished   his 


78  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

natural  gluttony,  and  once  when  he  had  been  called  upon 
for  this  service  he  was  still  gorging  himself  with  the 
rarest  grapes  as  he  brought  in  his  master's  fruit-dish 
filled  with  pineapples  and  bananas  from  which  he  had 
stolen  them.  Sometimes,  indeed,  when  he  was  not  being 
watched,  he  would  walk  off  with  the  whole  dish,  hiding 
it  in  his  bamboo  hut  that  had  been  built  for  him  in  the 
court-yard,  and  coming  back  into  the  dining-room,  now 
and  then  licking  his  chops  over  some  of  his  plunder. 
This  ceased  to  be  amusing  when,  instead  of  taking  native 
fruits  that  could  be  easily  replaced,  he  stole  a  magnificent 
basket  of  apples  and  pears  that  had  been  sent  his  master 
from  France  for  a  dinner  party.  The  loss  was  not  discov- 
ered till  the  day  after  the  fruit's  arrival,  when  only  an 
empty  basket  remained  in  the  hut  to  prove  the  thief. 
I  suffered  myself  from  the  rascal's  gluttony,  in  a  way 
which  did  his  cleverness  so  much  credit  that  I  must 
tell  it.  I  was  in  the  habit  of  taking  every  morning  at 
daybreak  a  cup  of  very  strong  black  coffee  and  a  sand- 
wich, which  my  own  favorite  man  always  laid  on  a  table 
at  the  head  of  my  bed,  and  then  turning  over  for  another 
nap  in  the  cool  of  the  morning,  which,  in  that  climate, 
follows  the  oppressive  heat  of  the  night.  I  always  heard 
m}'-  faithful  Thursday,  who  was  still  with  me,  come  in 
and  leave  the  cup  where  I  could  reach  it,  and  I  had 
become  so  used  to  the  operation  that,  without  opening 
my  eyes,  I  would  after  a  little  while  stretch  out  my 
hand  mechanically  and  get  the  fragrant  draught,  almost 


HUNTING   CHIMPANZEES.  79 

without  disturbing  my  rest.  When  I  did  not  eat  the 
Scandwich,  as  was  often  the  case,  I  would  save  it  for 
Master  Jack. 

One  fine  morning  I  put  out  my  hand  as  usual,  but  no 
coffee  was  there,  although  I  had  certainly  heard  Thursday 
bring  it  in  a  few  minutes  before.  I  forgot  to  speak  to 
him  about  it  during  the  day,  and  the  next  morning  the 
same  thing  occurred.  Thursday  came  at  his  regular  hour, 
and  two  minutes  later  the  coffee  had  disappeared.  I 
suspected  a  little  darky  who  brought  me  my  morning 
bath,  and  resolved  to  surprise  him  in  the  act  and  teach 
him  a  lesson.  The  following  day  when  Thursday  brought 
in  my  tray,  he  woke  me  as  I  had  instructed  him,  and  I 
lay  with  half-closed  eyes  ready  to  jump  up  at  the  slightest 
sound.  At  the  end  of  five  minutes,  hearing  nothing,  T 
ventured  a  glance  at  the  bamboo  stand,  when  what  was 
my  astonishment  to  see  the  cup  was  empty  !  And  I  had 
heard  and  seen  no  one !     I  called  Thursday. 

''Where  is  Tom?"  said  I.  That  was  the  little  darky's 
name. 

"  I  saw  him  just  now  in  the  kitchen,  massa." 

"You  did  not  see  him  come  upstairs?" 

"  No,  massa.  Has  Tom  taken  anything  belonging  to 
you?" 

"  Look,"  said  I,  pointing  to  the  table.  "  You  see,  my 
coffee  is  gone  !  " 

Thursday  did  not  grasp  the  situation.  "  Has  not  massa 
taken  his  coffee  this  morning  ?  "  he  inquired  blandly. 


80  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

"  No,  nor  yesterday,  nor  the  day  before." 

His  great  eyes  open,  his  lower  jaw  dropped,  Thursday 
stood  thunderstruck. 

"  You  see,"  I  added,  "  there  is  no  one  in  the  house 
beside  Tom  to  do  such  a  thing." 

Recovering  a  little  from  his  surprise,  the  kindly  fellow 
shook  his  head  slowly  and  said, — 

"  No,  it  can't  be  Tom,  for  he  went  at  four  o'clock 
with  the  cook  to  get  the  fish,  and  is  but  just  returned. 
He  had  not  taken  off  his  basket  when  massa  called  me." 

This  seemed  proof  conclusive  of  his  innocence ;  but  who 
could  be  the  sly  thief  ? 

"  Would  massa  like  to  know  who  has  played  him  this 
trick  ?  "  Thursday  whispered,  making  the  strangest  faces 
and  gestures.     "It  is  the  mafoucs !  " 

"Who  the  deuce  are  they?" 

"  They  are  the  evil  spirits  of  the  Niger,  who  are  furious 
at  not  having  been  able  to  kill  the  white  chief  who  in- 
vaded their  shores,  and  have  come  to  revenge  themselves 
here." 

I  could  not  help  laughing  at  his  superstitious  fears. 

"My  good  Thursday,"  I  said,  "that  I  am  not  buried 
in  their  marshes  is  due  to  your  devotion  and  my  own 
capital  constitution.     As  for  these  mafoucs — " 

"  Speak  no  evil  of  them,  sir,"  he  urged,  with  real 
terror;  and  I  concluded  to  let  the  matter  rest  until  I 
could  catch  the  thief  unaided.  At  dinner  I  told  the 
story  to  my  host,  who  smiled  in  a  knowing  way,  and. 


HUNTING   CHIMPANZEES.  81 

to  my  question  as  to  whether  he  could  solve  the  mystery, 
laughmgly  replied,  "  I  think  so.     It  must  be  Jack." 

''  Your  chimpanzee  ?  " 

"  None  other." 

"  I  can't  believe  it." 

"  Well,  all  you  have  to  do  is  never  to  lose  sight  of  the 
cup  of  coffee  to-morrow  after  it  is  set  on  the  table." 

I  resolved  to  follow  his  suggestion. 

At  the  usual  hour  Thursday  brought  my  coffee,  and 
I  lay  with  half-closed  eyes  watching  the  cup  intently. 
I  had  to  wait  but  a  few  moments  before  the  superstitions 
of  my  servant  seemed  about  to  be  justified.  The  cup  and 
saucer  began  to  move  from  the  centre  toward  the  edge 
of  the  table  without  any  apparent  cause !  I  sat  up 
quickly,  and  the  mysterious  agent  and  his  methods  were 
revealed  to  my  astonished  eyes.  Crouching  behind  the 
table,  which  hid  him  as  the  cup  did  his  hand,  was  Jack, 
who  must  have  stolen  in  on  all  fours,  so  that  I  should 
not  see  him,  with  an  expression  of  prospective  delight 
on  his  greedy  face  that  was  comic.  He  was  so  intent 
on  his  errand  that  he  did  not  notice  me  at  first,  until 
I  uttered  an  exclamation  of  pleasure  at  catching  the  ras- 
cal red-handed.  Then,  seeing  Thursday  blocking  the 
door  at  which  he  had  entered,  he  sprang  to  a  ventilator, 
always  open  in  this  sultry  climate,  and  with  the  greatest 
ease  and  agility  swung  himself  out  on  to  the  eaves,  and 
so  into  a  neighboring  tree.  Safe  in  his  improvised  for- 
tress, he  hurled  down  upon  us  all  the  branches  he  could 


82  HUNTING   IN    THE  JLNULE. 

reach  and  break  oft",  chattering  and  making  faces  at  us  as 
only  a  chimpanzee  can.  The  voice  of  his  owner  brought 
him  down  at  hist,  and  we  soon  became  fast  friends. 

The  most  surprising  part  of  the  whole  thing  was 
Jack's  remarkable  quickness  of  apprehension,  and  his 
choice  of  alternatives  —  always  hitting  the  better  —  in 
reaching  a  desired  end.  In  fact,  one  cannot  conceive  of 
a  trick  or  clever  ruse  that  he  could  not  fathom  and  make 
use  of,  as  was  further  shown  in  his  strange  partnersliip 
with  a  great  mastiff  of  rare  strain  preserved  only  in 
London,  from  which  city  one  of  my  host's  correspondents 
had  sent  him.  This  animal  w\as  a  great  curiosity  in  these 
latitudes,  where  European  dogs  seldom  live  long  on  ac- 
count of  the  heat  and  especially  the  diseased  food  which 
they  find  everywhere,  and  which  he  had  so  far  avoided 
by  being  carefully  confined  in  a  large  enclosure  built  for 
the  purpose. 

Jack,  the  rascal,  took  a  fancy  to  the  brute,  and  finding 
his  taste  for  the  forbidden  food,  undertook  to  supply  him 
with  bones  stolen  from  the  kitchen.  In  return  for  this, 
the  mastiff  devoted  whole  days  to  serving  the  chimpanzee 
in  the  capacity  of  a  pillow  ;  and  the  latter  enjoyed  nothing 
so  much  as  lying  at  full  length  on  a  mat,  with  his  head 
on  his  friend's  big  back. 

As  I  said  before.  Jack,  when  found  out  m  his  theft, 
fearing  the  thrashing  he  deserved,  took  refuge  in  a  tree, 
and  was  brought  to  terms  only  by  the  sight  of  his  master, 
who   exercised   a  real  fascination  over  him,  and  before 


HUNTING   CHIMPANZEES.  83 

whom  he  always  acted  upon  his  best  behavior.  This  was 
because  my  host  had  never  played  with  him,  nor,  although 
speaking  gently  to  him,  petted  him.  At  the  same  time 
he  never  refused  him  anything  to  eat  which  he  seemed 
to  want,  and  this  attitude  had  produced  in  Jack  a  certain 
feeling  of  respect  and  fear,  mingled  with  a  strong,  affec- 
tionate attachment. 

Beside  his  fondness  for  every  kitchen  dainty,  he  was 
also  a  lover  of  the  cellar  and  its  contents,  and  an  open 
bottle  could  not  be  left  anywhere  unguarded,  without  his 
quick  eye  observing,  and  iiis  thirsty  lips  draining,  it. 
Under  the  influence  of  the  liquor  he  would  commit  the 
most  absurd  follies,  throwing  off  all  control  whatever, 
and  breaking  his  dishes  and  belongings,  all  the  time 
making  the  most  frightful  faces  and  chatterings.  Like 
all  tipsy  people,  he  had  fixed  ideas  that  nothing  would 
influence,  —  a  favorite  one  being  to  climb  up  the  roof  of 
his  hut  to  a  pole  at  the  ridge.  When  this  idea  seized 
him,  he  would  creep  slowly  w])  the  bamboo  walls  of  his 
hut,  clinging  by  the  swellings  here  and  there,  until,  half- 
way up,  he  would  lose  his  grip  and  go  tumbling  down 
upon  the  ground,  to  the  great  amusement  of  any  lookers- 
on.  This  he  would  keep  up  until,  at  length,  he  could 
reach  the  top,  where,  with  his  arms  round  the  pole,  he 
slept  until  his  brain  became  clearer  of  the  fumes  of  wine. 
Sometimes  these  bouts  had  less  happy  endings.  Bottled 
wines  fall  an  easy  prey  to  the  thievish  negro  servants, 
and   Jack,    to    satisfy  his   cravings   for   liquor,   had    no 


84 


HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 


scruples  in  stealing  from  the  thieves  any  broken  cases  he 
could  lay  his  hands  on.  It  was  mere  play  for  him  to 
uncork  a  bottle  as  well  as  the  butler  himself  could  do  it, 


IT   WAS   MERE    PLAY   FOR   IIIM   TO   UNCORK   A    BOTTLE. 


and  one  morning  while  I  was  there  he  found  a  hidden 
treasure,  and  by  eight  o'clock  was  as  drunk  as  a  lord. 
My  host  was  at  his  office,  the  ladies  not  yet  risen,  and 


HUNTING   CHIMPANZEES.  85 

the  monkey  was  at  liberty  to  perform  his  wildest  antics. 
I  was  writing  at  my  window,  which  commanded  the 
court,  and  looking  up,  was  surprised  to  see  no  Jack,  but 
the  natives  all  craning  their  necks  up  in  my  direction. 
Leaning  out  of  the  window,  I  saw  the  chimpanzee  climb- 
ing leisurely  up  an  immense  tree  and  carrying  Tom,  the 
little  darky,  jauntily  under  his  arm.  The  poor  boy,  in 
spite  of  his  friends'  advice,  shouted  up  from  below,  was 
struggling  and  weeping,  to  Jack's  evident  amusement 
and  delight  as  he  continued  his  upward  course,  making 
the  queerest  grimaces.  Wild  with  terror,  the  boy  caught 
at  a  stout  branch,  and  held  on  so  firmly  that  the  chim- 
panzee was  compelled  to  stop.  This  he  did,  shaking  Tom 
by  the  heels  with  his  head  down,  until  he  was  glad  to  let 
go  and  be  carried  in  that  position  to  the  topmost  branches 
of  the  tree.  The  shouts  of  the  negroes  and  myself  were 
of  no  avail ;  and  it  was  not  until  I  had  sent  for  my  friend 
and  he  had  arrived  at  the  base  of  the  tree,  that  Jack  would 
bring  his  prize  back  to  earth  and  his  anxious  friends. 

A  few  days  later  my  host  said  to  me  at  dinner, — 

"  I  am  going  to  make  a  trip  up  the  Rouyme ;  don't 
you  want  to  join  me?" 

"  Why,  you  know  I  am  only  just  back  from  the  Niger, 
and  am  still  chattering  with  the  ague.  Could  I  stand 
this  fatigue  so  soon?" 

"  Yes,  you  have  nothing  to  fear  at  this  season  from  a 
new  attack,  and  the  fatigue  will  be  slight,  as  we  shall  go 
in  a  small  launch." 


86  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

"  Then  I  caccept  with  pleasure." 

"Although  I  wanted  you  to  go  with  me  very  much, 
still  I  should  not  have  urged  the  trip  upon  you,  except 
that  I  knew  you  were  always  glad  to  add  to  your  knowl- 
edge of  monkeys,  and  that  the  country  through  which 
this  river  flows  is  filled  with  them  in  great  variety. 
Two  days'  sail  from  here  is  a  forest  densely  grown  with 
palm  and  tulip  trees  festooned  with  flowering  vines, 
where  they  love  to  resort ;  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  it  is 
called  the  Forest  of  the  Monkeys." 

"  My  dear  host,"  I  said,  "my  only  anxiety  is,  when  do 
we  start  ? " 

"  To-morrow,  at  daybreak." 

I  summoned  my  faithful  Thursday  and  told  him  to 
get  everything  ready ;  for  although  a  short  visit  to  one 
of  his  rubber  depots  was  all  that  my  friend  had  planned, 
still  any  journey  in  Africa  means  considerable  prepara- 
tion. One  must  have  arms  and  ammunition,  a  pocket 
pharmacopoeia,  —  to  preserve  at  once  the  health  and  the 
skins  of  game,  —  and  a  lot  of  smaller  things  that  only 
an  old  traveller  remembers  to  get  beforehand.  Long 
before  daylight  I  was  astir,  looking  over  my  servant's 
preparations,  and  seeing  my  goods  and  chattels  stowed 
on  board  the  "  Jenny,"  —  an  able  little  launch,  named 
after  my  host's  charming  daughter.  The  first  two  days 
taught  us  her  comforts,  as  we  steamed  between  the  rather 
monotonous  banks,  lined  w^ith  their  luxuriant  vegetation, 
and  alive  with  water-rats,  vipers,  and  adders.     The  trees 


HE   HELPS    HIMSELF   TO   THE    CONTENTS   OF    THE    NATIVES'    CALABASHES. 


HUNTING   CHIMPANZEES.  89 

were  nearly  all  the  so-called  wine-palm,  from  which  the 
natives  get  their  favorite  drink,  by  tapping,  much  as  we 
tap  sugar-maples.  This  liquor  when  drawn  off  at  once 
is  sweet  and  mild,  and  not  at  all  disagreeable  to  a  Euro- 
pean palate ;  but  after  an  hour  or  two  of  fermentation 
it  becomes  absolutely  repulsive  to  all  but  a  negro's  taste. 
From  the  fruit  of  this  tree  a  similar,  though  less  valued, 
drink  is  obtained,  that  is  very  prompt  in  its  effect  on 
the  wits  of  the  drinker.  This  is  called  the  chimpanzee's 
tree,  and  it  is  well  named,  for  the  chimpanzee  often 
disputes  with  man  for  its  possession,  and  it  is  in  its 
branches  that  he  builds  his  clever  home.  The  natives 
even  go  so  far  as  to  accuse  him  of  helping  himself  to  the 
contents  of  their  calabashes,  hung  to  catch  the  "  fire- 
water." 

In  fact,  their  stories  in  relation  to  this  animal,  although 
less  savage  in  their  nature  than  those  concerning  the 
gorilla,  are  no  less  curious  and  full  of  superstition.  The 
native  mothers  bring  up  their  children  on  stories  like 
this :  —  •      - 

"  One  day  a  chimpanzee  met  the  king's  officer.  '  Good 
morning,  dealer  in  slaves,'  said  he ;  '  where  are  you  going, 
and  by  what  right  do  you  pass  through  my  forest  ? '  'I 
am  going  to  your  majesty's  brother,  the  Sultan  Haoussa, 
who  is  to  sell  me  two  hundred  slaves ;  if  your  majesty 
will  permit  me  to  pass,  I  will  give  you,  on  my  return,  six 
pairs  of  slaves.'  '  All  men  are  liars  and  cheats,'  said  the 
chimpanzee ;  '  therefore  leave  with  me  your  son  as  hostage.' 


90  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

Then  the  officer,  standmg  in  great  fear  of  him,  left  his 
son  and  journeyed  on.  But  when  he  reached  the  sul- 
tan, he  said,  '  Give  me,  I  pray  you,  a  guard  to  protect 
me  from  the  chimpanzee,  for  I  fear  lest  he  may  not  let 
me  pass  again  through  the  forest  in  safety/  Now, 
when  the  animal  saw  him  returning  with  a  large  guard, 
he  was  very  angry,  but  he  hid  liis  w^rath  and  invited 
them  all  to  eat  and  drink,  and  plied  them  wdth  wine 
till  they  were  all  drunk.  Then,  taking  their  lances, 
he  pierced  the  heart  of  each  soldier,  and  pinned  tliem 
all  to  the  ground,  and  released  the  slaves.  When  the 
officer  awoke,  the  chimpanzee  said  to  him,  '  Where 
are  now  your  guard  ? '  and  in  revenge  for  their  dis- 
trust, he  held  the  officer  and  his  son  in  slavery  ever 
after." 

Of  course  this  is  a  very  shnple  and  naive  fairy-story, 
but  it  is  interesting  as  showing  the  native  appreciation 
of  the  chimpanzee's  intelligence  and  quite  human  sense 
of  justice.  Indeed,  they  consider  him  a  man,  condemned 
for  his  evil  deeds  to  wander  for  a  time  under  this  form, 
until  he  shall  have  expiated  his  faults. 

The  second  night  was  upon  us  in  all  its  impenetrable 
blackness  before  we  came  to  anchor.  My  friend  insisted 
upon  mv  turning  in  under  cover  of  the  cabin,  to  avoid 
the  damp  mists  of  the  river,  while  he  prepared  a  little 
theatrical  surprise  —  as  he  expressed  it  —  for  my  morning , 
awakening. 

"And  the  scenery?"  said  I,  laughing. 


HUNTING   CHIMPANZEES.  91 

"  You  will  see  later.  Do  not  be  worried  at  our  absence, 
and  we  will  come  back  for  you  at  the  proper  moment. 
Thursday  shall  stay  with  you,  in  case  you  should  want 
anything." 

A  plank  was  thrown  ashore,  and  I  heard  my  friend 
give  his  orders  in  the  native  tongue,  and  then  leave 
the  boat,  followed  by  his  servants.  There  was  nothing 
left  for  me  but  to  roll  myself  in  a  blanket  and  turn  in 
on  the  cabin  lounge.  It  was  still  as  dark  as  Egypt  wdien 
I  was  aroused  by  my  host's  gentle  touch,  who  said 
smilingly,  "  I  am  sorry  to  disturb  you,  but  the  time  has 
come.     It  will  be  day  in  an  hour." 

Thursday  had  already  prepared  our  tea  and  buttered 
toast,  and  we  made  a  hurried  meal  before  starting  for 
the  Forest  of  Monkeys.  We  tramped  along  in  the  dark- 
ness, feeling  our  way  with  great  caution,  for  fully  half 
an  hour.     Suddenly  the  file  came  to  a  full  stop. 

"  Here  we  are,"  said  our  guide.     ''  Take  my  hand." 

He  led  me  to  the  base  of  a  ladder,  which  he  proceeded 
to  climb,  and  I  after  him.  Soon  I  came  to  the  end  of  the 
rounds,  and  could  feel  nothing  above. 

"Where  the  devil  are  you  taking  me  ?  "  said  I. 

"  Don't  be  afraid,  but  move  this  way,"  he  replied. 

Following  his  example,  I  advanced  cautiously  until  I 
found  myself  very  comfortably  ensconced  against  a  great 
limb  of  a  banyan,  with  firm  footing  beneath  me. 

'•  How  high  from  the  ground  are  we  ? " 

"  Oh,  not  more  than  ten  feet,"  replied  my  friend,  who 


92  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

had    followed    me    up    the    ladder,    and    now    sat    down 
beside  me. 

"When  will  you  ring  up  the  curtain?"  laughed  I. 

"  In  a  few  minutes.     Is  every  one  in  position  ? " 

"  Yes,  massa ;  yes,  massa,"  came  from  a  dozen  differ- 
ent branches  higher  up  in  the  tree. 

"  All  right.     Now  silence  all !  " 

Day  ends  and  begins  in  the  tropics  almost  without  any 
twilight,  and  with  the  rapidity  of  a  change  of  scenery  at 
the  theatre.  Hardly  five  minutes  had  elapsed  before  a 
pale  light  struggled  through  the  forest,  and  in  an  instant 
the  sun  filled  the  trees  with  its  golden  rays,  and  the  day 
had  come. 

At  a  glance  I  took  in  the  whole  remarkable  scene.  We 
were  perched  in  the  heart  of  a  banyan,  sheltered  from 
observation  by  a  screen  of  palm-leaves,  woven  together 
with  tough  vines  and  tendrils,  yet  w^ith  an  unobstructed 
view  of  what  was  going  on  around  us.  At  the  first  light 
of  day,  a  cry  of  joy,  in  a  hundred  different  keys  and  notes, 
went  up  from  the  innumerable  little  huts  hanging,  like 
grapes  in  cluster,  from  every  tree  in  the  forest.  Each  of 
these  huts  sheltered  its  family  of  chimpanzees,  and  old 
and  young  came  bounding  out,  uttering  piercing  cries,  to 
join  in  a  grand  romp.  Thousands  of  the  agile  animals 
sprang  from  branch  to  branch  of  the  highest  trees,  bal- 
ancing, swinging,  leaping,  sliding,  and  making  a  w^eird 
scene  to  my  eyes,  unaccustomed  to  see  so  large  a  number 
of   monkeys    at    once.     We    stayed    nearly    two    hours, 


HUNTING   CHIMPANZEES.  93 

watching  their  play,  and  we  were  so  completely  hidden 
that  none  of  them  suspected  our  presence.  After  seeing 
them  in  this  way,  I  became  convinced  that  the  natives' 
opinion  of  their  intelligence,  and  their  obedience  to  the 
recognized  chiefs  of  their  strange  communities,  is  justi- 
fied by  the  facts.  This  city  of  theirs  proves  their  social 
instinct,  and  its  very  existence  makes  certain  tacit  rules  .j; 

of  conduct  probable.     It  is  this  social  life  that  especially  } 

distinguishes  the  chimpanzee  from  the  gorilla,  who  lives 
only  with  his  family  and  never  in  connnunities. 


CHAPTER  VT. 


I  MAKE  THE  ACQUAINTANCE  OF  THE  ORANG-OUTANG. 


H 

T  was  not  till  some  months  after  the  incidents 
mentioned  in  the  last  chapter  that  I  found 
an  opportunity  to  study  another  species  of  the 
animal  most  nearly  resembling  man,  —  the  orang-outang. 

This  monkey  is  found  in  Borneo,  and  thither  Thursday 
—  now  grown  more  civilized  and  more  indispensable  — 
and  I  turned  our  faces.  We  took  passage  on  a  craft 
going  out  with  Chinese  laborers,  and  a  hard  voyage  we 
had  of  it,  with  head  winds  and  a  heavy  sea.  But  at  last, 
ten  days  late,  we  arrived  at  Saraouak,  and  immediately 
inquired  of  the  native  hunters  where  we  could  best  find 
the  game  for  which  we  were  in  search.  They  advised 
the  Sadong  River,  running  to  the  east  from  Saraouak, 
and  bordered  its  entire  length  with  dense  forests.  I  hired 
a  Dyak  porter  to  carry  our  provisions,  and  we  set  out. 
Two  days  later  we  were  floating  on  the  river,  and  my 
ardent  desire  was  about  to  be  gratified. 

Orang-outang  is  a  word  meaning  in  Borneo  ''  Man-of- 
the-Forest,"  and  is  applied  to  what  is  now  a  species  of 
small  stature,  rarely  five  feet  high,  but  of  stalwart  build, 


THE   OUANG-OUTANG. 


95 


the  body  being  often  in  circumference  two  thirds  of  the 
height.  His  arms  are  a  quarter  longer  than  his  legs,  so 
that  when  travelling  on  all  fours  his  attitude  is  half  up- 


AN   ORANG-OUTANG. 


right;  but  he  never  really  stands  on  his  legs  like  a  man, 
popular  belief  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  When 
young  his  color  is  tawny,  but  he  grows  black  with  years. 


96  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

The  orangs  live  in  couples  in  the  most  secluded  parts 
of  the  forest,  and  are  never  active,  like  the  chimpanzees, 
but  sit  all  day  with  their  legs  round  a  branch,  their  heads 
forward  in  the  most  uncomfortable  attitude,  occasionally 
uttering  mournful  sounds.  When  pursued  they  climb 
slowly  up  a  tree,  and  at  night  sleep  in  the  huts  built  to 
cover  their  young,  of  which  they  are  very  careful,  and 
whose  wants  they  supply  Avith  almost  human  tenderness 
and  devotion.  When  taken  young  they  are  susceptible 
of  taming  and  domesticating,  like  the  chimpanzee,  but 
as  they  grow  older  they  become  cross  and  violent,  and, 
curiously  enough,  the  forehead  —  prominent  in  the  adult 
—  becomes  retreating  in  later  years. 

After  waiting  some  days  without  seeing  any  orangs, 
my  native  guide  advised  our  going  away  from  the  river, 
deeper  into  the  unbroken  forest ;  and  this  we  did,  a  two 
days'  march.  .  One  morning,  just  as  I  had  killed  and  was 
examining  a  queer  wild  pig,  I  heard  a  rustling  in  the 
leaves  over  my  head,  and  looking  up,  was  paralyzed  with 
surprise  to  see,  some  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  above  me, 
an  enormous  orang-outang  quietly  seated  on  a  tamarind 
branch,  watching  me  and  grinding  his  teeth.  My  porter 
was  making  me  elaborate  signals  of  distress,  which  Thurs- 
day translated  into  advice  to  shoot  the  beast,  who  was  old 
and  fully  grown,  with  my  explosive-ball  rifle. 

"  He  says  he  is  an  evil  one,"  added  Thursday,  "  and 
that  the  old  orangs  are  very  dangerous  and  will  attack  a 
man  at  sight." 


OV^^K*^^'^' 


A   DYAK   OF   BORNEO. 


THE   ORANG-OUTANG.  99 

"All  right,"  I  replied.  "If  he  offers  to  attack  us,  I 
will  stop  him  promptly  with  a  bullet." 

It  is  true  that  one  of  my  most  ardent  desires  was  to 
obtain  a  skeleton  of  a  fully  developed  orang-outang,  but 
I  decided  to  postpone  the  gratification  of  it  until  I  should 
have  watched  the  animal's  movements  in  a  state  of  ab- 
solute freedom.  I  told  my  men  to  clap  their  hands  and 
shout,  to  scare  him,  but  all  he  did  was  to  sit  and  grind 
his  teeth ;  and  I  was  almost  persuaded  to  try  my  Dyak's 
advice,  when  the  orang-outang  coolly  grasped  a  branch 
hanging  near,  and  swung  himself  slowly  from  tree  to 
tree  without  any  apparent  effort,  about  as  fast  as  we 
could  walk  beneath.  We  followed  him  until  the  dense 
undergrowth  made  the  path  impracticable.  An  athlete 
would  have  performed  this  trapeze  act  with,  perhaps, 
more  grace,  but  nothing  could  surpass  the  indolent  ease 
with  which  he  left  us  behind. 

This  was  my  first  interview  with  this  peculiar  animal ; 
and  the  superstitious  Dyak  assured  Thursday,  relating 
numerous  parallel  cases,  that  as  I  had  not  killed  the 
orang,  the  orang  would  certainly  kill  me.  He  said  he 
had  know^n  a  great  many  travellers  who  had  been  at- 
tacked by  them  and  killed,  and  that  I  would  soon  join 
their  number,  although  he  confessed  that  he  had  never 
himself  been  present  at  such  a  misfortune. 

One  morning,  as  I  was  returning  from  a  long  walk 
through  the  woods  in  search  of  insects,  one  of  my 
boys   came    running   toward    me,  shouting   with    excite- 


100  HUNTING  IN  THE  JUNGLE. 

ment,   "  Quick,   take  your  gun  I   a  large  orang,  a  large 
orang ! " 

He  had  only  breath  enough  left  to  tell  me  the  animal 
was  up  the  path  toward  the  Chinaman's  camp,  and  I 
hurried  in  that  direction,  followed  by  two  Dyaks.  One 
barrel  of  my  gun  was  loaded  with  ball,  and  I  sent  Charley 
—  the  boy  —  back  to  camp  for  more  ammunition,  in  case 
I  should  find  the  game  had  kindly  waited  for  me.  We 
walked  carefully,  making  almost  no  noise,  stopping  ever}' 
now  and  then  to  look  round  ourselves,  until  Charley 
rejoined  us  at  the  spot  where  he  had  seen  the  orang,  and 
I  put  ball  in  the  other  barrel  and  waited,  sure  that  we 
were  near  the  game.  In  a  moment  or  two  I  heard  a 
heavy  body  moving  from  tree  to  tree,  but  the  foliage  was 
so  thick  we  could  see  nothing.  Finally,  fearing  I  might 
lose  him  entirely,  I  fired  at  guess  into  a  tree  in  which  we 
thought  he  must  be.  For  so  large  an  animal  he  moved 
with  remarkable  swiftness  and  silence,  but  I  felt  sure,  if 
we  could  follow  his  general  course,  we  should  eventually 
catch  sight  of  him  in  some  more  open  bit  of  forest.  And 
so  it  proved.  Just  at  the  spot  where  he  had  first  been 
seen  by  Charley,  and  to  which  we  had  now  got  back,  his 
tawny  side  and  black  head  appeared  for  an  instant,  long 
enough  for  me  to  give  him  both  barrels ;  and  while  I  was 
reloading  I  saw  him  cross  the  path,  dragging  one  leg  as 
if  it  had  been  broken  by  my  shot.  At  any  rate,  he  could 
not  use  it,  and  he  took  refuge  between  two  branches 
of  a  lofty  tulip-tree,  sheltered  from  sight   by  the  thick 


TIIKY    ARE    VERV    CAREFUL   OF   THEIR    YOUNG. 


THE   ORANG-OUTANG. 


103 


growth  of  glossy  leaves.  I  was  afraid  he  would  die  up 
there,  and  1  should  never  get  him  or  his  skeleton.  It 
was  no  use  trying  to  get  the  Dyaks  to  climb  the  tree  and 


HE    TOOK   REFUGE    BETWEEN    TWO   BRANCHES   OF   A   LOFTY   TREE. 


cut  the  branch  from  under  him  ;  they  were  afraid,  and 
said  so.  We  tried  to  dislodge  him  with  all  sorts  of  mis- 
siles, but  in  vain.     Finally  we  started  to  cut  down  the 


104  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

tree ;  but  when  the  trunk  was  severed  the  tree  only 
leaned  over,  and  was  held  in  that  position  by  innumerable 
tough  vines  running  to  a  dozen  neighboring  trees.  It 
would  take  us  all  night  to  cut  them  all  down ;  still,  we 
began  the  work,  which  almost  immediately  gave  the  tree 
such  a  shaking  that  down  came  the  gigantic  orang  with 
a  tremendous  thud.  When  we  came  to  measure  him,  we 
found  him  a  giant  indeed,  stretching  from  hand  to  hand 
over  six  feet.  He  was  horribly  wounded,  —  both  his  legs 
broken,  a  bullet  in  his  neck,  another  in  his  jaw,  and  a 
whole  joint  shot  away  from  the  base  of  his  spinal  column. 
And  yet  he  was  alive  I  When  he  fell  the  Chinamen 
lashed  him  to  a  litter  and  carried  him  into  camp,  where 
it  took  Charley  and  myself  all  day  to  clean  his  skin  and 
boil  the  flesh  from  his  skeleton.  From  this  and  many 
similar  experiences  I  have  become  convinced  that,  in 
spite  of  stories  to  the  contrary,  the  orang-outang  never 
attacks  man.  His  policy  is  always  flight,  and  to  my  own 
testimony  is  added  that  of  all  the  Chinese  wood-cutters 
whom  I  met  in  Borneo ;  and  the  island  is  full  of  them. 

The  next  day,  while  looking  for  material  to  make 
myself  a  table  for  natural  history  specimens,  Thursday 
and  I  ran  across  an  old  camp  of  some  of  these  Chinese 
lumbermen,  where  fragments  of  plank  and  scantling  w^ere 
lolenty.  While  we  were  gathering  these  I  chanced  to 
look  up  in  the  tree  above  us,  and  into  the  eyes  of  a  very 
large  orang-outang  whose  head  only  was  visible.  Re- 
membering  the   skeleton    I   wanted,    I   raised    my   rifle 


THE   ORANG-OUTANG.  107 

immediately  and  fired  where  I  knew  the  body  must  be. 
The  animal,  wounded  but  not  killed,  fell  heavily  to  the 
ground,  but  almost  at  once  started  toward  a  neighboring 
tree,  from  which  Thursday  and  a  Dyak  headed  him  off. 
Although  badly  wounded,  the  brute  would  have  been  more 
than  a  match  for  them  both,  had  not  a  second  shot  from 
me  ended  the  struggle. 

It  proved  to  be  a  fully  grown  female,  and  a  tiny  young 
one  was  clinging  to  her  in  terror.  Had  I  known  this  cir- 
cumstance I  should  not  have  harmed  her,  but  it  was  too 
late  then  to  make  any  difference.  The  little  fellow  trem- 
bled in  every  limb  when  Thursday  brought  him  to  me, 
and,  in  spite  of  my  caresses,  would  not  be  reassured.  But 
the  more  difficult  it  seemed  to  do  anything  with  him,  the 
more  I  resolved  to  succeed,  and  remembering  my  expe- 
rience with  the  young  gorilla,  I  set  about  devising  some 
way  of  feeding  him.  I  started  the  Dyak  off  in  search 
of  a  goat,  and  told  him  not  to  return  until  he  found  one. 
Meanwhile  I  mixed  sugar,  bread,  and  water  together,  and, 
although  at  first  he  declined  it  energetically,  he  soon 
sucked  it  from  my  finger  with  a  decided  gusto.  It 
proved,  however,  too  strong  food  for  so  young  a  stomach, 
and  I  was  just  beginning  to  think  he  would  die  on  my 
hands,  when  the  Dyak,  followed  by  a  Chinaman  and  a 
goat,  came  into  camp.  The  Chinaman  should  have  been 
a  Jew,  so  sharp  was  he  at  trading ;  but  finally,  after  pre- 
tending that  I  cared  nothing  whatever  about  his  goat,  and 
after  long  haggling  on  his  part,  starting  at  one  hundred 


108  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

rupees  (twelve  dollars  and  fifty  cents)  and  coming  down 
to  five,  the  goat  became  mine,  and  the  little  orang-outang 
obtained  a  step-mother  that  soon  rivalled  its  own  mother 
in  tenderness.  She  nursed  it  and  caressed  it  exactly  as  if  it 
had  been  her  own,  and  a  very  pretty  sight  it  was.  He 
soon  grew  large  enough  to  travel  on  his  own  stm^dy  legs, 
at  any  sudden  alarm  running  quickly  back  to  his  nurse 
and  clinging  to  her  with  his  sinewy  fingers. 

When  he  strayed  away  out  of  her  sight  in  the  woods, 
it  was  really  pathetic  to  hear  her  bleatings  and  his 
answering  cries.  He  had  gradually  come  to  know  me, 
and  he  treated  us  all  with  the  greatest  gentleness.  When 
he  was  three  months  old  I  began  to  give  him  bananas, 
of  which  he  was  very  fond,  and  he  afterward  became 
accustomed  to  other  fruits ;  but  nothing  ever  pleased  him 
like  the  goat's  milk.  He  learned  very  quickly,  and  at 
five  months  knew  all  objects  in  my  tent  by  name, 
bringing  to  me  anything  I  called  for,  which  was  certainly 
more  than  many  children  of  two  or  even  three  years 
could  have  done.  But  with  the  latter,  development  pro- 
gresses with  giant  strides  after  that  age,  while  with  an 
orang  it  ceases.  What  an  animal  is  at  one  year  of  age 
he  always  remains. 

One  morning  a  Chinaman  came  to  offer  for  sale  a  tiny 
monkey  which  he  had  partially  tamed.  This  little  ani- 
mal looked  like  a  pygmy  beside  my  young  orang,  but 
he  could  do  a  variety  of  things,  like  feeding  himself,  etc., 
that  the  larger  was  not  yet  up  to.     So  I  bought  him, 


THE   ORANG-OUTANG.  Ill 

and  put  them  in  the  same  hut,  where  they  soon  became 
fast  friends ;  the  monkey,  on  account  of  his  more  perfectly 
developed  faculties,  being  easily  master. 

When  he  wanted  to  sleep  nothing  would  do  but  that  the 
orang  must  lie  down  too,  and  let  him  pillow  his  head  on 
him.  But  there  was  another  side  to  this;  for  the  orang- 
outang looked  upon  him  as  a  kind  of  doll,  invented  for 
his  particular  enjoyment,  and  when  he  felt  in  playful 
mood,  he  would  seize  the  monkey  by  the  ear  or  the  neck 
or  the  tail,  and  swing  him  round  and  hold  him  in  any 
uncomfortable  position  at  his  own  sweet  will.  The  mon- 
key would  rage  and  even  weep,  but  only  interference  on 
our  part  would  stop  this  rough  treatment.  He  learned 
early,  as  all  animals  do,  to  distinguish  the  members  of 
our  party  and  their  relations,  and,  as  master,  he  always 
treated  me  with  respectful  obedience.  I  taught  him  to 
eat  rice  boiled  in  milk,  and  to  use  a  spoon  and  bowl  like 
his  little  friend,  who,  by  the  way,  was  fond  of  stealing 
from  him  all  he  safely  could.  They  were  both  gluttons, 
and  nothing  amused  Thursday  more  than  to  set  them 
quarrelling  over  some  bit  of  choice  fruit.  As  tlie  orang's 
teeth  grew,  his  temper  and  character  became  more  pro- 
nounced, and,  like  an  ill  brought-up  child,  he  wished  all 
round  him  to  give  way  to  his  whims.  He  had  no  consid- 
eration whatever  for  the  Dyak,  who  washed  and  tended 
him  with  the  greatest  patience,  but  tried  to  pull  his  hair 
and  bite  him  whenever  the  mood  seized  him.  I  named 
him  Joseph  and  the  monkey  Jack,  —  after  my  chimpanzee 


112 


HUNTING  IN    THE  JUNGLE. 


friend,  —  and  they  answered  promptly  to  their  names 
when  called,  without  mistake.  1  was  proud  of  them  and 
their  accomplishments,  and  tempted  to  send  them  home 


I   TAUGHT    IIIM   TO   USE    A    SPOON. 


to  some  naturalist,  but  chance  prevented.  You  should 
have  seen  them,  —  Jack,  a  napkin  round  his  neck,  seated 
at  a  corner  of  the  table  eating  slowly  with  fork  and  spoon, 


THE   ORANG-OUTANG.  113 

like  any  well-taught  child  ;  Joseph,  with  a  napkin  over 
his  arm,  waiting  upon  him  as  solemnly  as  an  English 
butler.  To  be  sure,  they  stole  the  best  fruit  —  but  then, 
no  one  is  perfect !  It  was  with  a  real  pang  that  I  left 
these  little  fellows  behind  with  a  friend,  to  whom  I  gave 
them  on  my  departure  from  Borneo. 

Perhaps  this  is  the  only  case  on  record  of  the  growth 
in  captivity  of  a  young  orang-outang,  and  it  is  interesting 
to  note  in  what  ways  he  resembled  a  child.  When  very 
young  he  lay  nearly  always  on  his  back,  with  his  legs  in 
the  air,  and  when  he  wanted  anything  he  simply  put  his 
head  back  and  howled  till  he  got  it.  When  he  first  began 
to  walk  it  was  with  the  same  timid  hesitation  that  a  child 
does,  and  when  he  succeeded  in  taking  a  few  steps  with- 
out falling,  he  glanced  at  us  with  a  very  human  look  of 
triumph.  The  appearance  of  the  goat  always  caused  him 
a  high  degree  of  satisfaction,  expressed,  again  like  a  child 
on  the  entrance  of  its  mother,  by  little  sighs  of  content- 
ment. I  may  say,  indeed,  that  up  to  the  age  of  four  or 
five  months  I  saw  nothing  different  in  him  from  what 
I  have  remarked  in  a  child  except  that  difference  of 
development  mentioned  before. 

My  stay  in  Borneo  was  coming  to  an  end  when  one 
morning  I  set  out  on  a  hunting  trip  which  proved  well- 
nigh  my  last.  I  carried  my  smooth  twenty-four  bore 
and,  in  deference  to  the  Dyaks'  urgent  appeals,  my  rifle 
with  its  explosive  ammunition. 

"It  is  a  dangerous  neighborhood,"  one  of  them  said, 

8 


114 


HUNTING   IN    THE   JUNGLE. 


''  and  we  are  liable  to  meet  a  tiger."  This  caution  proved 
my  safety,  and  without  it  I  should  not  now  be  reeling  off 
these  veracious  experiences,  although  we  met  no  tigers. 


^.•>>j^^^^  ^_,^^<^^^ 


WE   WERE   TRAVELLING   THROUGH   THE   EDGE    OF   A    GREAT    SWAMP. 


Up  the  Sadong  we  paddled  for  nearly  an  hour,  until  the 
trees  along  its  banks  began  to  grow  thinner  and  a  decided 
change  in  the  character  of  the  shores  became  apparent. 


THE    ORANG-OUTANG.  115 

We  were  travelling  through  the  edge  of  a  great  swamp 
where  peat  pits  and  stagnant  pools  alternated  strangely 
with  little  oases  of  clustered  trees,  contrasting  sharply 
with  the  surrounding  level  and  looking  for  all  the  world 
like  floating  islands. 

We  landed  and  began  a  careful  march  across  the  quak- 
ing ground  toward  one  of  the  larger  islands.  The  soft 
mud  sliowed  recent  tracks  of  orang-outangs,  some  of  them 
evidently  of  the  largest  size.  It  was  a  long  and  difficult 
tramp,  and  my  heart  began  to  misgive  me  that  the  Dyaks 
had  misled  me  in  promising  good  sport  before  night-fall, 
when  the  leader  of  our  file  stopped  suddenly  in  the 
greatest  apparent  excitement  and  terror. 

"What  is  it?"  said  I  to  Thursday,  sternly.  "Let  us 
have  no  nonsense." 

"  He  says  he  has  made  a  mistake,  and  that  the  tide  is 
risino;." 

"  Well,  what  of  it  ?  There  is  n't  tide  enough  here  to 
drown  a  dog.     Tell  him  to  go  on." 

And  on  we  went,  to  the  Dyak's  intense  disgust  and 
soon  to  our  own  apprehension  ;  for,  although  the  tide  rises 
but  little,  it  soon  covered  our  path,  raised  but  little  from 
the  surrounding  marsh,  and  made  advance  or  retreat  at 
first  dangerous  and  then  impossible !  I  was  very  angry 
with  the  rascal,  but  decided  to  take  it  out  of  him  later, 
when  we  should  be  out  of  our  unpleasant  predicament, 
and  to  bear  the  discomfort  of  standing  in  water  up  to 
the  knees  for  a  few  hours  with  what  philosophy  I  could 


116  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

muster.  Suddenly  the  scene,  which  had  its  comic  side, 
assumed  a  tragic  one.  I  was  trying  to  distinguish,  along 
the  horizon,  the  point  where  the  ocean  began,  when  I 
heard  an  exclamation  of  horror  from  the  natives,  who, 
with  eyes  starting  from  their  sockets,  pointed  eastward 
toward  the  nearer  tree  clumps. 

"What  is  it?"  said  I,  straining  my  eyes  in  the  same 
direction,  but  in  vain. 

"  Crocodiles  !     Crocodiles  !  " 

I  repeated  the  word  mechanically,  my  heart  sinking 
within  me  as  I,  too,  began  to  distinguish  the  black  points 
which  indicated  to  the  Dyaks'  quick  eyes  the  approaching 
enemy, 

"Are  you  sure?"  I  whispered  hoarsely,  the  cold  sweat 
pouring  off  my  forehead. 

"Yes,  Sahib,  certain;  and  there  are  four  of  them." 

I  had  only  six  explosive-ball  cartridges,  and,  in  spite 
of  their  terrible  effectiveness,  I  could  but  remember  that 
the  crocodile  in  the  water  is  well-nigh  invulnerable,  with 
only  his  armor-plated  back  exposed.  However,  the  terri- 
ble foe  was  still  some  way  off,  and  I  should  not  myself 
have  detected  them  but  for  the  Dyaks'  quick  instinct. 
There  was  nothing  left  us  but  to  try,  at  any  cost,  to 
reach  the  nearest  of  the  tree  islands,  avoiding  by  guess 
the  bottomless  mud-holes  that  beset  the  path. 

The  unfortunate  Dyak  who  was  responsible  for  our 
position  headed  the  line  again,  sounding  to  right  and 
left,  as  he  advanced,  with  his  spear.     It  is  impossible  to 


THE   ORANG-OUTANG.  119 

describe  this  adventure,  —  marching  through  the  water, 
pursued  by  crocodiles,  not  daring  to  put  down  one's  foot 
until  assured  by  sounding  that  it  would  reach  something 
solid.  Although  the  island  grew  perceptibly  nearer,  our 
hungr}'  neighbors  did  too,  and  at  an  increasing  pace. 
Still  we  were  distancing  them,  —  for  over  many  of  the 
shoals  they  could  not  swim,  and  wading,  for  a  crocodile, 
is  a  slow  process,  —  when,  without  warning,  and  as  quick 
as  lightning,  we  felt  the  ground  sink  beneath  our  feet, 
and  we  were  all  four  precipitated  simultaneously  into  the 
swamp.  Instinctively,  Thursday  and  I  raised  our  weapons 
and  ammunition  high  over  our  heads,  for  when  we  touched 
bottom  —  that  is,  a  fairly  solid  layer  of  vegetable  matter 
—  the  water  reached  our  arm-pits. 

"We  might  as  well  give  up,"  said  I,  in  despair;  "this 
time  we  are  lost !  " 

"  Oh,  don't  give  up  yet.  Sahib.  We  are  so  low  that, 
with  this  head  wind,  the  crocodiles  cannot  see  us  and  will 
perhaps  be  unable  to  find  us  at  all.  Let  us  cover  our 
heads  with  these  marsh  grasses  and  leaves  and  '  lie  low.'  " 

His  advice  was  so  evidently  good  that  instead  of  a  vain 
attempt  to  reach  the  firm  land  with  its  inevitable  ex- 
posure to  the  hungry  eyes  of  our  terrible  pursuers,  we 
acquiesced  at  once.  After  several  minutes  of  suspense, 
the  Dyak  raised  himself  slightly  on  a  hummock,  and 
glanced  cautiously  toward  the  spot  where  we  had  last 
seen  them.  His  face  cleared  at  once,  and  he  cheered  us 
with,  — 


120 


HUNTING   IN    THE  JUNGLE. 


"  They  have  lost  us,  and  have  separated  to  search  for  us. 
Three  are  going  ahnost  directly  away  from  this  place,  and 
one  only  knows  enough  to  keep  on  in  the  first  course." 


WE    COVERED   OUR   UEADS   WITU   MARSU-PLANTS. 


"  And  he  is  headed  for  us  ?  " 

"  In  a  straight  line  !  " 

"  Then  do  not  lose  sight  of  him  for  an  instant.     With 


THE   ORANG-OUTANG.  121 

one  enemy  we  may  be  able  to  cope,  and  then  there  is  a 
chance  that  he  may  lose  the  scent." 

When  I  asked  him  again  where  the  animal  was,  —  for 
I  dared  not  raise  my  own  head  to  look,  —  he  replied  that 
he  was  still  coming  straight  toward  us,  and  1  saw  that 
a  meeting  was  inevitable  and  made  my  preparations 
accordingly. 

I  took  my  rifle  from  Thursday  and  loaded  it  with  an 
explosive  ball,  and  gave  him  my  hunting-piece  instead. 

"Now  then,  Thursday,"  said  I,  "listen  to  my  instruc- 
tions. The  Dyak  says  the  crocodile  is  sure  to  find  us. 
I  shall  let  him  get  within  ten  yards  of  us,  and  then  I 
shall  fire  at  whatever  vulnerable  part  I  can,  —  his  eye  or 
his  belly.  Of  course  I  may  miss  him,  or  the  bullet  may 
glance  off  his  back  without  wounding  him." 

The  black's  eyes  rolled  with  horror. 

"  Then,  without  an  instant's  hesitation  and  yet  without 
haste,  you,  who  must  stand  just  behind  me,  must  take 
my  rifle  and  hand  me  my  other  gun  for  a  second  shot. 
Do  yon  understand?" 

"Perfectly." 

"And  I  can  depend  on  you?" 

"Till  death." 

"  We  will  try  to  make  it  less  bad  than  that,  and  your 
courage  shall  meet  its  reward." 

I  knew  what  he  said  was  true,  for  the  fellow  had  been  de- 
voted to  me  ever  since  I  saved  his  life  in  the  jungle  when 
the  gorilla  grappled  him,  and  I  felt  I  could  rely  upon  him. 


122  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

Raising  myself  as  high  as  I  could,  I  took  a  good  look 
at  the  slowly  approaching  monster,  and,  I  confess,  a  shud- 
der of  horror  ran  through  me  at  his  immense  size.  He 
was  farther  off  than  I  had  expected,  and  evidently  quite 
unconscious  of  our  neighborhood,  into  which  he  had  come 
by  chance,  following  the  raised  path  on  which  we  o\u'- 
selves  had  been  travelling  when  the  tide  overtook  us.  I 
immediately  changed  my  plan  of  attacli.  I  oi'dered 
Thursday  to  wade  off  to  the  left  so  that  the  smoke  from 
his  trrni  should  not  blow  across  me,  and  told  him  to  fire 
at  the  crocodile  and  try  to  wound  him,  if  only  slightly. 
As  this  would  make  the  latter  raise  his  head  and  look 
round,  I  hoped  to  get  a  shot  at  some  very  vulnerable  spot, 
and  land  an  explosive  ball  wdiere  it  would  do  most  good. 
I  had  hardly  taken  up  my  position,  with  rifle  lifted,  when 
Thursday's  gun  cracked  sharp  and  clear,  and  I  saw  blood 
fly  from  the  eye  of  the  crocodile,  whose  advance  ceased 
immediately.  I  could  hardly  restrain  a  cry  of  joy,  but 
catching  sight  of  a  yellow  bit  of  neck,  I  fired  at  it  and 
shut  my  eyes.  A  great  splash  and  the  shouts  of  triumph 
of  the  Dyaks  encouraged  me  to  open  them,  and  1  found 
the  success  of  the  shot  greater  than  I  could  have  hoped. 

The  crocodile  lay  on  his  side  on  a  little  island  with  his 
neck  blown  open  the  entire  length  of  the  jaw,  while  the 
Dyaks,  who  had  made  a  l^reak  for  land  without  regard 
to  Thursday  or  myself,  capered  round  him.  I  called 
them,  and  they  helped  me  on  shore  to  where  the  animal 
lay  in  his  last  agony,  —  for  these  brutes  die  as  hard  as  a 


THE   ORANG-OUTANG.  125 

snake.  He  was  a  very  large  specimen,  with  a  head  twice 
as  long  as  it  was  broad,  his  eyes  set  close  together  above 
his  long  snout,  of  which  only  the  under  jaw  was  movable. 
His  front  feet  had  five  toes  armed  with  claws,  and  his 
liind  feet  but  four,  and  webbed  to  allow  him  to  swim 
easily.  His  whole  body  was  shingled  with  plates  of  a 
shell-like  membrane  that  made  him  a  fine  coat  of  mail 
nearly  bullet-proof.  Green  on  the  back,  his  color  gradu- 
ally shaded  off  into  yellow,  and  he  was  a  terrible  foe  to 
meet  in  the  water,  where  we  should  not  have  come  oft"  so 
well  had  not  our  good  luck  stood  by  us  just  as  it  did. 

I  was  duly  thankful  to  regain  the  bank,  which  I  had 
never  expected  to  touch  again,  and  had  not  tlie  heart  to 
blame  the  Dyak  who  was  responsible  for  our  narrow 
escape  ;  but  I  resolved  to  place  less  reliance  on  the  natives 
in  future. 

On  the  way  back,  Thursday  had  the  satisfaction  of 
shooting  a  fine  full-grown  orang-outang,  without  injuring 
a  bone,  and  I  prepared  the  skeleton  for  mounting  in  an 
ingeniously  easy  way  suggested  by  him.  Cutting  off  the 
meat  roughly  from  the  frame,  we  placed  the  carcass  near 
a  large  ant-hill,  and  surrounded  both  with  a  plank  fence. 
In  a  week  the  ants  had  left  it  for  me  clean  and  white  as 
ivory.  This  satisfied  me,  as  far  as  orang-outangs  went, 
and  I  turned  next  to  a  lower  species  of  monkey,  —  the 
long-armed  ape,  or  gibbon. 


CHAPTER   VII. 


STILL     IN     BORXEO. 


TRUST  the  reader  will  not  object  to  prolong- 
ing his  stay  in  Borneo  with  me,  to  make  the 
acquaintance  of  this  curious  family  of  apes, 
owing  their  name  to  the  unusual  proportion  of  their  arms 
to  their  legs,  as  is  shown  in  our  picture.  The}^  are  of  a 
gentle  nature  and  easily  tamed,  and  although  less  intelli- 
gent than  their  cousins,  the  chimpanzees  and  orang- 
outangs, they  are  much  more  agreeable  to  have  anything 
to  do  with.  As  they  grow  older  they  seem  even  more 
sociable  and  good-tempered,  —  quite  the  opposite,  as  you 
see,  from  the  others.  They  are  very  common  in  the 
forests  of  India,  Java,  Sumatra,  and  Borneo,  where  they 
live  in  large  communities  under  recognized  leaders,  at 
wdiose  call  they  meet  at  sunrise  and  sunset,  with  a  fearful 
din  and  chattering  that  must  be  heard  to  l)e  appreciated. 
Even  when  confined  alone,  these  monkeys  retain  this 
habit  of  greeting  the  orb  of  day  with  a  harsh,  monot- 
onous cry,  repeated  when  the  night  comes  on,  and  gaining 
in  intensity  and  sendinfj  power — as  singers  say  —  through 
a  pocket  connected  with  the  larynx  in  which  they  can 
store  up  air. 


STILL   IN  BORNEO. 


12" 


A  point  in  which  the  long-armed  ape  differs  from  all 
other  monkeys,  and  which  therefore  must  not  be  forgotten 
of   them,  is   their  extraordinary  care  in  removing  their 


THE   GIBBON,   OR  LONG-ARMED   APE. 


dead  far  from  their  homes.  They  do  this  invariably,  and 
one  cannot  be  long  in  the  vicinity  of  one  of  their  commu 
nities  without  seeing  them  engaged  in  this  almost  human 


128  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

errand ;  four  bearers,  one  for  each  limb,  currying  a  dead 
body  toward  some  quiet  spot  in  the  forest. 

One  night  when  1  was  in  India  I  saw  a  crowd  of  these  gen- 
tle creatures  climbing  over  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  temple, 
and  a  weird  sight  it  was.  We  were  passing  the  night  in 
one  of  those  old  brick  towei's  built  by  the  rajahs,  at  regular 
distances,  to  shelter  travellers.  Imagine  a  kind  of  turret 
twenty  or  twenty-five  feet  high,  divided  into  three  stories, 
each  of  one  room  surrounded  l)y  a  low  ledge  on  which 
travellers  might  sleep,  and  crowned  with  a  platform  from 
which  they  could  safely  enjoy  the  comparative  coolness 
of  the  nights  and  listen  to  the  strange  concert  of  sounds 
that  arose  from  the  forest  round  its  base.  That  night  the 
tigers,  attracted  by  our  horses  that  we  had  stabled  in  the 
lower  story,  prowled  round  our  shelter  uttering  their  pen- 
etrating cries,  sometimes  in  a  deeper  tone  that  rolled  and 
reverberated  like  thunder  through  the  tree-tops.  To  these 
notes  was  added  the  occasional  cry  of  a  panther,  stealing 
up  to  our  ill-fastened  door  to  find  himself  disappointed  of 
his  prey.  My  hunting  companion  fired  his  revolver  toward 
several  pairs  of  lurid  eyes  which,  at  the  report,  disappeared 
into  the  blackness  of  the  surrounding  undergrowth,  only 
to  reappear  after  a  few  minutes  as  hungry  as  ever.  A 
tiger,  by  the  way,  is  nearly  always  hungry ;  for  living  as 
he  does  on  the  flesh  of  deer  and  other  swift-footed  game, 
he  is  often  unable  to  catch  them  for  days  together. 

One  of  my  friend's  shots  was  followed  by  an  unusually 
sharp  and  loud  cry. 


GENTLE    CREATURES    CLIAIBING    OVER    THE    RUINS. 


i 

i 


STILL    IN   BORNEO.  131 

"Touched,"  said  he. 

'•  Do  you  think  so  ?" 

••  Yes,  Hsten." 

AVe  could  hear  the  irregular  and  painful  breathing  of 
the  beast  growing  fainter,  and  in  the  morning  found  a 
few  yards  from  the  tower  a  magnificent  specimen  of  the 
jaguar  with  my  friend's  bullet  just  back  of  his  shoulder, 
where  death  must  have  followed  promptly.  On  the  way 
back  from  this  very  trip  we  managed  to  capture  a  fine, 
well-grown  entellus,  that  closely  resembled  the  sacred 
monkey  so  common  in  India,  especially  in  Bengal.  For 
this  animal  the  Indians  have  so  deep  a  veneration  that 
they  allow  him  to  enter  their  gardens  and  help  himself 
to  all  the  fruit  he  wants  without  the  least  remonstrance. 
As  the  animals  always  travel  in  companies,  this  privilege 
results  in  absolute  starvation  to  the  farmer  who  is  visited. 
You  may  go  to  bed  w4th  a  superb  garden  filled  with 
bananas,  guavas,  and  all  the  delicate  tropical  fruits,  ripe 
and  luscious:  the  next  morning  you  wake  up  to  find  — 
nothing.  At  dawn  a  band  of  sacred  apes  has  fallen 
like  a  blight  on  your  garden  ;  and  there  the  thieves  are, 
eating  the  plunder  under  your  very  nose.  The  servants 
refuse  to  toucli  the  intruders,  and  if  you  try  to  shoot 
them  yourself  leave  your  service,  and  your  house  is 
soon  tabooed,  for  they  have  the  countenance  and  sup- 
port of  all  the  superstitious  natives  from  Cape  Com- 
orin  to  the  Himalayas  and  from  the  Persian  Gulf  to 
Calcutta. 


132  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

The  legend  from  which  all  this  reverence  obtains  its 
authority  is  as  follows  :  — 


THE   LEGEND   OF   RAMA   AND   THE  APE 
ANNOUMA. 

Once  upon  a  time  Rama,  or  Vishnu  incarnated  under  that 
name,  lived  in  Aodya,  passing  his  youth  in  the  silence  of  the 
forests,  engaged  in  meditation  and  prayer.  Djamadogny,  King 
of  Militta,  having  seen  some  of  his  Avonderful  deeds,  proposed 
that  he  should  try  to  bend  an  enormous  bow,  once  the  property 
of  Siva,  the  god  of  war,  offering  him  as  reward,  if  he  succeeded, 
the  bow  and  his  beautiful  daughter  Sita.  The  latter  was  so 
marvellously  lovely  that  all  the  princes  of  India  had  tried  to 
bend  the  bow,  hoping  to  win  her  hand,  but  not  one  of  them 
could  even  start  it.  Rama,  without  any  apparent  effort,  bent 
the  bow,  strung  it,  and  drew  the  cord  an  arrow's  length,  and 
drove  the  shaft  through  the  jialace  walls  with  such  force  that  it 
wounded  a  Brahman's  wife  within,  and  so  seriously  that  her  life 
was  in  danger.  Her  husband,  furious  at  the  accident,  by  virtue 
of  spells  and  sorceries  uttered  a  curse  that  condemned  Rama, 
although  a  god,  to  a  life  in  which  he  should  never  be  wholly 
successful  in  anything  he  undertook,  nor  perfectly  happy.  This 
power  is  common  to  all  Brahmans,  and  is  irresistible  for  mortals 
and  gods  alike;  and  poor  Rama  saw  all  his  undertakings  blighted 
in  the  bud  by  this  unhappy  curse.  He  had  hardly  returned  with 
his  lovely  bride  to  his  own  home,  Avhere  he  was  now  king,  Avhen 
his  late  father's  second  wife  came  to  him  to  beg  him  to  abdicate 
in  favor  of  her  son,  alleging  that  the  gods,  through  the  oracle, 
had  declared  that  to  be  their  wish. 


A   FEW    YARDS    FROM    THE    TOWER    A   MAGNIFICENT   JAGUAR. 


ijyil 


SriLL   IN  BORNEO.  135 

Seeing  in  this  another  attack  from  his  unhappy  fate,  Rama 
hiid  aside  his  crown  and  retired  to  the  forest  with  his  wife  Sita 
and  her  brother  Latchoumana. 

One  day  while  the  latter  was  out  hunting,  he  cut  off  the  ears 
from  the  six  heads  of  Sauparna,  sister  of  the  ten-headed  giant 
Havana,  King  of  Ceylon.  This  monarch  took  his  revenge  by 
carrying  off  Sita  one  fine  afternoon,  when  her  husband  and 
brother  were  not  near  to  protect  her,  and  immuring  her  in  a 
dismal  dungeon. 

Rama  was  inconsolable  at  this  climax  to  his  misfortunes,  and 
could  think  of  nothing  but  how  he  should  rescue  his  beloved 
Avife.  To  do  this  an  army  was  necessary,  and  he  applied  for  aid 
to  the  young  man  in  whose  favor  he  had  given  up  his  throne, 
but  in  vain. 

it  was  now  that  the  apes  came  to  the  rescue.  Their  chief, 
Annouma,  called  them  together,  and  put  it  to  vote  whether  Rama, 
the  incarnation  of  Yishnu,  deserted  by  gods  and  men,  was  not  a 
fit  object  for  sympathy  and  assistance  from  them.  There  was  but 
one  sentiment  in  the  meeting,  and  a  messenger  was  despatched 
to  Ceylon  to  see  what  had  become  of  Sita.  The  extraordinary 
agility  and  strength  of  the  ape  made  him  a  peculiarly  suitable 
spy,  and  he  succeeded  in  finding  the  imprisoned  lady,  when 
most  men  would  undoubtedly  have  failed.  When  he  liad  reached 
the  castle  in  which  she  was  confined,  he  climbed  to  the  top  of  a 
tree  near  her  dungeon,  and  when  he  saw  the  fair  Sita  come  on 
to  the  terrace  to  enjoy  the  fresh  evening  air,  he  began  to  sing 
her  this  song  :  — 

"  Of  what  is  the  lovely  Sita  thinkiug, 
When  she  looks  afar,  across  the  forest,  — 
She,  the  daughter  of  the  Earth  and  Plutus, 
Towards  the  country  of  the  Sunlight?" 


136  HUNTING   IN    THE  .ir'NOLE. 

And  Sita  replied  :  — 

"I  am  listening  to  the  breezes 
J'roni  the  country  of  the  Sunlight, 
Bringing  words  of  bitter  anguish 
From  my  Rama,  well-beloved,"  etc., 

like  all  the  nursery  ballads  of  every  people,  running  on  to  a 
great  many  verses. 

The  messenger  returned  to  Rama  with  the  assurance  that  Sita 
was  waiting  patiently  for  his  coming  with  the  friendly  apes,  to 
free  her  from  the  tyrant  Ravana.  Then  Annouma  and  his  allies 
raised  a  mighty  army  of  apes,  and  began  to  build  a  bridge  of 
stone  over  to  Ceylon  ;  and  while  his  soldiers  brought  stone, 
Annouma  uprooted  trees  and  carried  rocks,  "  more  than  the 
hairs  upon  his  body."  Wliile  the  bridge  was  building  the  bears 
sent  a  regiment  of  their  best  warriors  to  reinforce  their  friends 
the  apes,  and  together  they  marched  across  the  bridge  toward 
the  centre  of  Ravana's  kingdom. 

But  he,  knowing  of  their  coming,  had  prepared  endless  ob- 
structions and  legions  of  opponents.  First  they  were  obliged 
to  conquer  thousands  of  crocodiles  from  the  island  marshes; 
then  flooded  river-beds  and  mountain  torrents  opposed  them ; 
then  came  fire,  —  whole  forests  sacrificed  to  the  flame.  But  the 
brave  apes  and  bears  were  sworn  to  win  or  die ;  and  they  con- 
quered each  obstacle  in  turn,  and  finally  arrived  before  the  castle, 
wliere  they  thraslied  Ravana  in  several  well-fought  battles,  in 
wliich  Annouma  was  always  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight,  and 
drove  him  into  his  citadel,  —  his  last  resort.  The  siege  lasted 
ten  years,  with  varying  fortune ;  and  before  it  was  over,  all  the 
gods  and  goddesses  had  taken  sides,  —  some  for  Rama  and  some 
for  Ravana,  —  and  were  helping  their  favorites  with  every  means 


■ 


STILL   IN  BORNEO. 


137 


in  their  power.  At  last  Ravana  was  slain  in  single  combat  by 
his  adversary,  and  Sita  was  restored  to  her  liusband's  arms,  and 
the  King  of  Militta  punished  for  his  refusal  to  help  him.  In 
leaving  Ceylon,  Rama  placed  a  giant  ally  on  the  throne,  promis- 


OFFERING   THE    BEST   FRUITS   OF   THE    LAND. 

ing  him  that  it  should  l^e  his  while  Annouma  and  his  race  should 
be  honored  and  respected ;  and  that  this  should  be  "  as  long  as 
the  world  remains  held  in  space  by  the  hand  of  its  god  ;  as  long 
as  the  sun-ffod  hurls  his  radiant  darts  throuah  the  ether,  and  the 


138  HUNTING   IN    THE  JUNGLE. 

wind-god  whistles  from  nortli  to  south  and  from  east  to  west, 
carrying  the  clouds  on  their  errands  ;  as  long  as  the  stars  shine 
in  the  heavens,  and  the  rising  and  falling  sea  makes  a  line  of 
foam  round  the  earth,  and  the  lotus  flower,  like  the  spirit  of 
creation,  floats  thereon.  Curses  upon  him  who  fails  in  his 
worship  of  you,  or  in  offering  you  the  best  fruits  of  his  land,  as 
he  would  to  any  god.  Curses  upon  him  who  shall  despise  or 
maltreat  you ;  for  I,  Rama,  incarnation  of  Vishnu,  pronounce  you 
and  your  offspring  sacred  upon  the  earth,  even  until  the  ages 
shall  bring  again  the  return  of  Brahma  and  the  last  day  for 
gods  and  men  and  every  living  thing." 

The  worship  of  Annouma  has  spread  through  the  whole 
of  India,  and,  although  the  followers  of  Vishnu  especially 
reverence  him,  no  sect  refuses  to  honor  him  with  offerings 
of  fruit  and  flesh.  Where  these  sacred  apes  are  most 
common,  the  poor  natives  not  only  let  them  help  them- 
selves to  anything  in  the  garden,  but  actually  prepare 
great  platters  of  sweetened  rice,  which  they  carry  piously 
to  some  one  of  their  favorite  haunts.  Perhaps  no  people 
show  a  stranger  form  and  object  of  worship  than  they, 
nor  one  more  difficult  of  explanation.  I  once  said  to  a 
Brahman  with  whom  I  was  on  terms  of  the  greatest  frank- 
ness, which  allowed  the  remark,  — 

"  You  are  far  too  intelligent  to  believe  this  story  of 
Rama  and  Annouma." 

"They  are  stories  for  children,"  he  replied. 

"  Then  how  do  you  explain  the  universal  credence  given 
them?" 


I 


"l    CANXOT   AFFORD    TO    SUPPORT    THEM,"    HE    SAID. 


STILL  IN  BORNEO. 


141 


"  Simply  that  they  have  been  invented  to  explain  a 
feeling  of  indebtedness  to  the  apes  that  owes  its  origin 
to   their   having   given    warning   by    their   cries    of    an 


i? 


MACAQUE    APES. 


approaching  tidal  wave  and  flood,  and  tliereb}-  saving 
whole  communities,  who  heeded  them  and  fled  to  the 
hill-tops." 


142  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

"  And  bow  do  you,  who  own  farms  and  gardens,  treat 
them  when  they  come  to  devastate  them?" 

Smilingly  he  replied,  ''  I  cannot  afford  to  support  them, 
and  so  drive  them  oft'  with  a  stick,  —  but  I  have  to  do  it 
myself  and  at  night." 

During  the  great  war  in  Ceylon,  the  warrior  apes  of 
Annouma  are  reported  to  have  taken,  as  servants  and 
camp  followers,  numerous  macaques,  which  differ  in  several 
ways  from  their  reputed  masters.  Their  most  interesting 
characteristic  is  their  imitativeness,  and  it  is  unwise  to  do 
anything  in  their  presence  that  you  are  unwilling  they 
should  repeat.  I  saw  one  of  them  imitate  his  mistress, 
whom  he  had  watched  plucking  and  boiling  fowls,  by 
pulling  out  the  feathers  of  a  pet  paroquet_,  in  spite  of 
the  latter's  beak  and  claws,  and  putting  him  alive  into 
the  teakettle,  where  he  was  afterward  found  by  the 
cook! 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


BACK     TO     AFRICA. 


HURSDAY  and  I  returned  to  Africa  laden  with 
the  spoils  of  our  hunting  trips  in  Borneo,  and 
he,  at  least,  well  pleased  to  find  himself  once 
more  in  the  African  jungle.  One  night,  as  we  were 
returning  to  camp  from  a  hard  tramp  after  a  gorilla 
through  swamp  and  forest,  my  guide,  himself  so  weary 
that  he  leaned  upon  his  bow,  using  it  like  a  cane,  stopped 
short,  and  motioned  me  to  do  the  same. 

"  Listen,"  said  he. 

I  could  hear  the  distant  calls  of  jackals  and  the  usual 
thousand  noises  of  forest  life,  but  nothing  else,  and  I  felt 
that  he  must  hear  something  that  my  duller  ears  could 
not.  After  a  few  moments  of  silence,  during  which 
Thursday's  face  expressed  a  growing  astonishment,  he 
condescended  to  explain. 

"  There  are  a  number  of  elephants  in  front  of  us,  —  in 
fact,  a  whole  kraal." 

Kraal  means  ''  village  "  and,  by  wider  usage,  "  tribe." 

"  How  ca-n  you  tell  ?     I  hear  nothing." 

"  But  I  hear  their  cries.  Let  us  advance  quietly  so  as 
not  to  attract  their  attention." 


144  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

I  followed  his  advice,  literally  hardly  breathing,  al- 
though for  several  iiiinutes  I  could  distinguish  nothing 
to  suggest  the  presence  of  the  huge  animal.  Then,  how- 
ever, at  last  I  detected  the  curious  note  which  character- 
izes them,  and  which  grew  more  distinct  as  we  moved 
forward  toward  a  large  clearing,  filled  with  the  bones 
and  tusks  of  elephants,  and  from  which  arose  a  horrible 
stench  as  from  decaying  flesli. 

"What  place  is  this?"  I  asked  the  guide. 

"An  elepliants'  burial-place,"  he  answered  mysteriously 
in  a  whisper.  "  Hist !  Look  !  "  The  cries  redoubled. 
"  They  are  bringing  one  of  their  number  to  the  charnel- 
house."  They  were  no  longer  cries,  but  prolonged  and 
plaintive  shrieks  and  ho\yls  at  unequal  intervals,  rever- 
beratino;  throuii;h  the  forest.  We  hid  in  a  ditch,  and  this 
is  the  strange  sight  we  saw. 

A  dozen  elephants  suddenly  appeared  at  the  other  side 
of  the  clearing,  surrounding  and  supporting  an  enormous 
patriarch  enfeebled  with  age  and  sickness.  To  hasten  his 
tottering  steps,  they  all  belabored  him  with  their  trunks, 
urg-iniT  him  forward  to  the  tomb  of  his  ancestors,  among 
whose  bleaching  bones  he  was  coming  to  lay  his  own. 
The  convoy  having  supported  him  to  a  convenient  spot, 
stood  one  side,  and  over  he  went  upon  his  side  with  a 
mournful  cry  that  startled  the  birds  and  monkeys  from 
the  neighboring  trees,  and  drove  them,  a  noisy  band,  farther 
into  the  forest  to  join  the  jackals,  whose  impatience  could 
hardly  brook   any  delay  in  the  giant's  death,  and  were 


BACK   TO  AFRICA. 


145 


already  hungry  for  his  carcass.  Just  as  the  elephants 
were  retiring  into  the  dusky  edges  of  the  woods,  Thurs- 
day made  a  movement  that  attracted  their  attention,  and 


SEARCHING   FOK   ELEPHANTS     TCSKS   IN   THEIK   BUKIAL-PLACES. 


they  turned  and  charged  upon  us !  The  African  was 
brave  enough  wdien  his  game  was  caught  in  a  pitfall, 
and  all  he  had  to  do  was  to  shoot  poisoned  arrows  into 

10 


146  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

his  defenceless  body ;  but  twelve  active  elephants  on  the 
aggressive  was  a  different  story,  and  he  turned  tail  and 
ran  for  his  life. 

All  I  could  think  of,  left  in  this  predicament,  was  to 
fire  at  the  leader  and  climb  a  tree.  I  had  no  sooner  done 
the  former,  than,  wheeling  quickly,  the  troop  made  off 
into  the  jungle  at  right  angles  to  where  they  had  come 
ii:  IVhen  he  saw  that  the  danger  was  over,  Thursday 
returned  in  a  most  penitent  state  of  mind,  and  tried  to 
make  me  believe  that  he  had  fled  out  of  consideration  for 
me,  as,  if  the  elephants  had  recognized  him  —  their  great- 
est dread  —  nothing  could  have  stopped  them  !  On  our 
way  into  camp,  Thursday  assured  me  that  all  communi- 
ties of  elephants  have  their  burial-place,  and  if  one  of 
their  number  dies  suddenly,  they  drag  him  thither  that  his 
huge  carcass  may  not  infect  their  haunts.  He  was  full 
of  stories,  and  interesting  ones,  that  would  fill  a  volume, 
about  this  royal  beast ;  and  I  am  very  glad  to  have  the 
opportunity  to  say  a  few  words  that  may  do  some  justice 
to  this  much-maligned  brute,  who  should,  much  more  than 
the  lion,  be  called  the  king  of  beasts. 

There  is  no  living  creature,  even  man  himself  aided  by 
all  the  devices  of  civilization,  that  can  force  an  elephant 
to  do  anything  contrary  to  his  wish ;  nor  is  there  cage, 
nor  prison,  nor  fetter,  that  will  hold  him  without  his 
consent.  Man  can  kill  him  with  the  weapons  of  warfare, 
l)ut  can  never  tame  him,  like  other  animals,  by  starvation 
and  hard  treatment,  but  simply  by  an  exercise  of  reason. 


BACK   TO  AFRICA.  149 

The  elephant,  when  once  domesticated,  no  longer  thinks 
of  the  jungles  where  he  grew  up,  nor  does  he  have  mo- 
ments of  fury  when  all  his  savage  nature  returns  to  him. 
If  left  unconfined  lie  does  not  spring  upon  his  keeper, 
slay  him,  and  escape  to  the  wilderness,  like  most  wild 
beasts ;  for  man  attracts  him,  and  he  becomes  his  faithful 
friend  and  the  sharer  of  his  labors.  I  have  seen  him  in 
Ceylon  ;  on  the  long  roads,  deep  in  dust,  of  Hindostan  ; 
in  the  market-places  of  Benares ;  in  the  jungles  of  Bur- 
mah  and  Indo-China ;  in  the  vast  wildernesses  of  Southern 
Africa ;  and  everywhere  I  have  found  him  better  than  the 
men  who  use  him,  asking  only,  in  return  for  his  strength 
and  his  kind  willingness,  a  little  affection  and  good  treat- 
ment. There  is  only  one  thing  to  be  afraid  of  in  him, 
and  that  is  a  madness  very  like  that  to  which  the  human 
brain  is  subject.  In  this  rare  case  he  knows  neither  him- 
self nor  others,  and,  as  one  can  do  nothing  with  him  forci- 
bly, it  is  often  necessary  to  shoot  him.  Sometimes  this 
madness  displays  itself  in  an  intense  depression  of  spirits, 
when  the  elephant  retires  to  some  corner  of  his  quarters, 
and  refuses  all  food  imtil  he  dies  —  as  the  natives  say  — 
of  a  broken  heart. 

This  remarkable  animal  remembers,  understands,  rea- 
sons, associates  ideas,  and  even  accomplishes  two  of  the 
mental  processes  —  comparison  and  judgment  —  which 
are  at  the  root  of  intelligence ;  so  that,  whether  in  point 
of  animal  or  of  intellectual  strength,  the  lion  makes  little 
show  before   such  an  adversary.     Indeed,  his  courage  is 


150  HUNTING  IN  THE  JUNGLE. 

nothing  but  unreasoning  ferocity,  and  his  generosity 
only  a  fable  of  certain  naturalists,  while  his  intelligence 
is  far  below  that  of  the  panther  and  tiger.  The  ele- 
phant, on  the  other  hand,  comes  nearest  man  in  point  of 
intellect,  as  do  the  anthropoid  apes  in  point  of  physical 
qualities. 

Elephants  live  in  communities,  under  chiefs  to  whom 
strict  obedience  is  observed,  and  in  accordance  with 
recognized  laws.  The  labor  of  obtaining  food  is  shared 
among  them  systematically,  and  fruits  and  roots  are 
collected  for  the  young,  their  mothers,  and  the  weak 
and  old  in  regular  order. 

It  has  been  urged  against  these  animals  as  a  proof 
of  lack  of  intelligence,  that  the  mother  cannot  recog- 
nize, in  a  herd,  her  own  offspring  from  among  the  young 
of  others,  for  they  are  brought  up  together.  I  am 
confident,  from  much  observation,  that  this  is  not  so, 
and  that  it  is  simply  their  custom  to  nurse  any  young 
elephant  of  the  herd  if  their  own  are  satisfied.  Take 
a  child  five  or  six  hours  old  away  from  its  mother, 
and  ask  her,  a  few  days  later,  to  pick  it  out  of  a  room- 
ful of  children  of  the  same  age.  It  does  not  prove, 
because  she  cannot,  that  she  is  unintelligent. 

At  any  alarm  of  danger  the  chiefs  utter  a  signal, 
easily  remembered.  Immediately  the  younger  ones, 
guided  by  the  females,  place  themselves  together  in 
the  centre,  with  the  females  around  them,  and  the 
males  outside  them.     In  this  form  they  meet  the  attacks 


BACK    TO  AFRICA. 


151 


of  their  enemies,  or  of  others  of  their  own  race.  In  the 
latter  case  the  struggle  is  terrific,  and  the  forest  re- 
sounds with  the   cries  of  the  wounded,  while  the   trees 


ADVANCE    GUARDS,    LIKE    SENTINELS. 


bend  like  reeds  in  the  wind.  Any  of  the  conquered 
males  left  alive  take  flight,  and  the  victors  adopt 
children  and  wives  of  the  vanquished  in  good  old 
heathen  fashion. 


152  HUNTING   IN    THE  JUNGLE. 

Punishment  is  administered  by  the  chiefs  for  acts  of 
insubordination ;  and  it  is  not  uncommon  to  see  an 
offender  seized  by  older  elephants,  and  dealt  resound- 
mu:  blows  from  their  trunks.  When  they  are  on  the 
march,  changing  their  locality,  they  camp  each  night 
in  the  form  of  the  hollow  square  I  have  described, 
posting,  beside,  advance  guards,  like  sentinels,  to  watch 
that  no  enemy  steal  upon  them  unaware. 

Ever  since  Thursday  had  entered  my  service  he  had 
continually  urged  me  to  go  on  a  hunt  especially  for 
elephants,  assuring  me  that  it  was  the  most  exciting 
and  interesting  sport  possible.  One  night  soon  after 
this  last  adventure,  he  was  speaking  again  on  the  same 
subject,  and  I  at  length  consented,  on  one  condition, — 
that  having  enjoyed  all  the  excitement  of  the  chase, 
we  should  not  kill  the  elephant.  Even  Thursday's 
greed  for  pay,  and  consequent  rum,  would  not  have 
accepted  this  condition  had  I  not  promised  him  double 
wages  for  the  whole  time  we  were  out.  This  brought 
him  to  terms;  and  he  proceeded  to  hire  four  other 
natives  as  his  assistants,  and  one  fine  morning  we  set 
out  for  elephant-land. 

The  five  negroes  were  armed  with  shovel  and  pick, 
for  we  were  simply  going  to  hunt  our  game  in  am- 
buscade, —  that  is,  take  an  elephant  by  tempting  him 
into  a  pit  covered  over  with  l)ranches  and  leaves.  To 
make  the  pit,  and  cover  it  so  that  the  elephant  would 
not  notice  it,  was  easy  enough  ;  b^it  what  I  was  moro 


BACK   TO  AFRICA.  153 

anxious  to  see  was  how  they  would  attract  the  game 
away  from  his  herd,  and  draw  him  into  the  trap.  We 
were  fully  sixty  leagues  from  the  coast,  and  all  around 
us  stretched  an  unbroken  forest,  where  both  good  feed- 
ing-places and  cool  shadows,  which  the  elephant  loves, 
promised  plenty  of  sport.  Thursday  felt  confident  that 
the  very  herd  from  which  he  had  obtained  ivory  a  year 
or  more  before  would  still  have  remained  in  sncli 
a  favorable  locality,  Avhere  there  was  everything  to 
tempt  them  to  a  long  stay.  That  night  we  camped 
on  the  edge  of  the  forest,  and  were  careful  to  make 
as  little  noise  as  possible,  and  even  went  without  a 
fire  for  cooking,  to  avoid  any  smoke  that  might  warn 
the  herd  of  our  approach.  We  supped  on  maize  and 
cassava  cakes,  made  the  day  before  by  Thursday's  wife, 
and  on  canned  sardines,  which  I  shared  with  my  men, 
to  their  intense  delight.  Indeed,  there  is  no  surer  pass- 
port to  the  hearts  or  greed  of  the  blacks  tlian  a  tin  box 
of  these  oily  fish,  and  they  have  often  stood  me  in  good 
stead  among  unfriendly  natives. 

If  we  had  been  scented  b}^  the  elephants,  they  would 
either  have  attacked  us  or  left  the  country  for  several 
days ;  for  although  they  fear  neither  animal  nor  man, 
still,  the  latter  has  an  entirely  different  effect  on  them 
from  the  most  savage  of  the  former.  When,  for  in- 
stance, he  suspects  the  presence  of  his  deadly  foe,  the 
rhinoceros,  he  shakes  with  rage,  and  hastens  to  meet 
the  enemy  in  a  combat  from  which   he  almost  always 


154  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

comes  out  victor ;  l)ut  if  man  approaches  him  lie  retires, 
if  possible,  into  the  deepest  solitudes  of  the  woods,  unless 
he  once  sees  him,  when  he  charges  upon  hiui  furiously. 
So  it  was  important  to  take  all  precautions  that  he 
should  not  guess  our  presence ;  and  Ave  therefore,  as  I 
said,  went  without  hre,  which  in  Africa,  surrounded  as 
you  are  with  wild  animals,  is  very  dangerous.  Thurs- 
day chose  our  camp  wisely,  in  a  little  half-clearing 
where  we  could  see  in  all  directions  a  dozen  yards 
around  us,  so  as  to  avoid  surprises,  and  away  from 
the  river  we  had  Ijeen  following,  that  we  might  not 
interfere  with  the  drin king-place  of  any  lions  or  pan- 
thers in  the  neighborhood.  My  hammock  was  swung 
on  a  tamarind  branch  at  a  dizzy  height,  and  I  had  to 
reach  it  by  an  athletic  exhibition  worthy  of  a  chim- 
panzee. Fifteen  feet  raised  me  from  the  clutches  of 
prowling  beasts,  Init  laid  me  open  to  the  danger  of 
breaking  a  limb  if  my  sleep  were  at  all  uneasy,  so 
with  a  bit  of  line  I  laced  myself  in,  and  lay  secure, 
but  sleepless.  What  nights  these  African  days  bring! 
Through  the  pathless  forest  roam  wild  beasts  in  search 
of  food,  ready  to  follow  the  first  scent  that  promises 
them  their  prey ;  ravenous  —  except  on  those  rare  days 
when  they  have  run  across  a  buffalo  strayed  from  his 
herd  —  and  quick  to  take  advantage  of  any  unwary 
wanderer.  Lions,  panthers,  elephants,  and  gorillas  are 
here,  and  before  the  terror  of  their  coming  fly  all  the 
smaller  game  of  the  forest  around. 


BACK    TO  AFRICA.  157 

Thursday  had  not  been  mistaken  in  his  locality,  for 
several  times  during  the  night  we  heard  elephants 
trumpeting  in  the  neighborhood.  iVt  dawn  he  began 
his  trap,  —  that  is,  he  and  his  men  set  out  to  clean  and 
rebuild  one  he  had  made  and  used  the  year  before, — 
and  in  two  hours  it  was  done  and  cleverly  covered  in.  We 
then,  from  a  perch  in  a  neighboring  tree,  saw  him  and 
one  of  his  men  disappear  into  the  forest ;  and  I  was  left 
with  his  wife  and  the  other  men,  who  could  none  of  them 
imderstand  a  word  of  my  language,  nor  I  of  theirs. 

After  several  hours  of  uncomfortable  waiting  and  listen- 
ing, I  heard,  evidently  coming  toward  us,  the  distressed 
cry  of  a  young  elephant  and,  farther  off,  the  answer- 
ing calls  of  his  friends  in  the  herd.  Five  minutes  later 
the  sounds  w^ere  repeated,  nearer  still ;  and  soon  I  saw,  to 
my  intense  surprise,  that  the  first  cry  proceeded  from 
Thursday,  who  made  use  of  a  reed  to  alter  the  pitch  of  his 
voice,  and  that  he  was  certainly  drawing  on  after  him  a 
male  and  female,  in  search  of  their  supposed  offspring. 
Thursday  soon  joined  us  in  the  tree,  and,  in  reply  to  my 
compliments  on  his  powers  of  imitation,  said  that  was 
easy  enough,  but  that  the  difficulty  lay  later  when  the 
elephants  were  near,  looking  for  their  young  one. 

"Why,  how  is  that?" 

"  You  see,  then  I  must  change  the  note  to  one  of  joy, 
as  if  he  were  pleased  at  the  approach  of  help,  for  the 
elephant  is  bright  enough  to  know  that  his  young  would 
not  continue  distressed  when  he  saw  his  family  coming ; 


158  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

and,"  added  he,  with  conscious  pride,  "  there  are  not  three 
men  in  tlie  business  beside  myself  who  can  do  tliis."  He 
turned  and  addressed  a  word  or  two  of  caution  to  the 
natives,  and  the  silence  was  unbroken  afterward,  save  by 
the  calls  and  answers  from  the  elephants  at  intervals  of 
a  few  minutes,  the  latter  rapidly  approaching  our  tree. 
At  last  we  began  to  hear  them  breaking  their  waj- 
through  the  foliage,  with  occasional  pauses  to  place  the 
direction,  evidently,  from  which  Thursday's  cries  proceeded. 
It  was  one  of  those  black  nights  when  the  darkness  is  so 
intense  it  seems  as  though  daylight  could  never  pierce  it 
again  ;  and  this  and  my  strange  surroundings  —  clinging 
to  a  tree  with  a  handful  of  savages,  in  the  midst  of  an 
almost  untracked  wilderness,  filled  with  wild  beasts  of 
which  so  royal  an  example  was  now^  nearing  us  —  gave 
me,  for  a  moment,  a  sensation  of  dizziness  that  proved 
Thursday's  wisdom  in  lashing  us  to  the  branch.  Suddenly 
the  elephant's  steps  ceased,  and  two  of  my  guide's  best- 
feigned  cries  of  distress-  remained  unanswered.  I  began 
to  fear  lest  our  scent  should  have  reached  the  game.  I 
could  hear  the  uneven,  restless  breathing  that  indicated 
disquietude  ;  and  Thursday,  too,  evidently  thought  it  time 
to  change  his  tactics,  for  he  uttered  a  much  shriller  and 
longer  cry  than  before,  to  which  the  elephant  replied  by 
a  soft  and  more  agreeable  note,  almost  like  a  mother's 
call. 

"  It   is   a  female,"  whispered  Thursday,  rapidly,  and, 
without  waiting  for  reply,  he  continued  his  quicker  cries, 


BACK   TO   AFRICA. 


159 


with  a  climax  of  great  distress,  as  if  the  Httle  elephant 
had  suddenly  been  the  victim  of  some  fresh  violence.  To 
each  reply  he   had    a   new  note,  pitched    to    marvellous 


"  IT    IS   A   FEMALE,"    WHISPERED    THURSDAY. 

agreement  with  the  female's  mood.  His  last  call  ended 
our  long  waiting ;  for,  with  a  threatening  note,  the  huge 
animal  charged  forward  to  the  rescue,  breaking  down  all 
obstacles  en  route,  until  crash  she  went  into  the  pitfall. 


160  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

"We  have  her,"  shouted  Thursday,  and  with  his  native 
friends,  began  indulging  in  expressions  of  extravagant 
delight.  It  would  have  broken  your  heart  to  hear  her 
piteous  notes  when  these  unaccustomed  sounds  reached 
her,  trapped  through  her  love  for  her  young,  and,  in  spite 
of  frantic  efforts,  unable  to  get  out  of  Thursday's  cleverly 
arranged  trap.  The  latter  was  ungenerous  enough  to 
utter  again  some  of  the  cries  of  distress  that  had  first 
deceived  her,  until  I  ordered  liim  sharj^ly  to  desist.  Pity 
for  a  vanquished  enemy  is  something  that  never  enters  a 
negro's  head,  and  sympathy  with  a  wounded  or  suffering 
animal  strikes  him  as  superlatively  ridiculous,  and  I  was 
compelled  to  repeat  my  order  angrily  to  obtain  obedience. 

The  rest  of  the  night  passed  in  comparative  quiet,  al- 
though the  elephant  never  ceased  to  struggle  to  escape ; 
and  my  conscience  reproached  me  that  I  should  have  been 
the  cause  of  sacrificing  her  to  her  maternal  instincts.  As 
dawn  came  her  struggles  seemed  to  cease,  for  we  no  lon- 
ger heard  her  frantic  movements,  which,  we  inferred,  had 
wearied  her.  Thursday  and  I  climbed  down,  when  it 
was  light,  and  approached  our  captive.  What  was  our 
astonishment  to  see  her,  with  the  aid  of  her  tusks,  digging 
into  the  bank  and  trampling  down  the  earth  to  aid  her 
escape !  This  accounted  for  the  silence  of  the  last  fev/ 
hours,  and  had  we  given  her  a  few  more  she  would  have 
succeeded  easily.  The  animal  was  so  intent  on  her  work 
that  she  did  not  at  first  notice  us,  but  when  she  did,  she 
associated  us  at  once  with  her  misfortunes,  and  began  to 


BACK   TO  AFRICA.  161 

utter  terrible  cries,  waving  her  trunk  back  and  forth  as 
if  to  threaten  us. 

"Don't  go  too  near,"  Thursday  cautioned  me.  "  See  !  " 
As  he  spoke  he  hekl  out  toward  the  angry  beast  a 
bamboo  rod,  which  she  grasped,  almost  dragging  him  with, 
it,  and  broke  into  a  thousand  pieces,  which  she  threw  back 
at  us  with  greater  force  than  accuracy.  This  was  followed 
by  small  stones  and  lumps  of  earth,  her  fury  seeming  to 
increase  each  moment,  and  her  cries  growing  louder  and 
more  penetrating. 

"  We  shall  have  the  whole  herd  down  upon  us,  if  this 
goes  on,"  muttered  my  guide,  and,  as  if  to  confirm  his 
statement,  the  distant  trumpetings  of  many  elephants 
could  be  heard  answering  their  companion.  Evidently 
the  safest  thing  to  do  was  to  retreat  as  quickly  as  possi- 
ble ;  but  we  had  hardly  reached  our  tree  of  refuge  before 
the  advance  guard  appeared  on  the  edge  of  the  clearing, 
and  behind,  hundreds  of  trunks  and  mighty  heads  were 
visible  among  the  branches ;  the  former  like  great  ser- 
pents in  motion,  winding  round  and  uprooting  any  trees 
in  the  way  of  the  herd's  advance.  It  was  a  terrible  and 
inspiring  sight  to  see  this  army  of  faithful  friends  hurry- 
ing to  the  assistance  of  their  comrade,  whose  cries  were 
now  of  joy.  In  an  instant  two  of  the  animals  laid  hold 
upon  her  and  freed  her  from  the  pit,  and  surrounding 
her,  the  herd  testified  to  their  joy  at  finding  her,  in 
almost  human  caresses.  All  this  lasted  but  a  few  mo- 
ments, and  they  turned  for  revenge  upon  those  who  had 

11 


162  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

invaded  their  solitude.     With  unerring  accuracy  in  placing 
us  and  our  refuge,  they  surrounded  the  tree  and  menaced 


THE    ADVANCE    GUARD    Al'PEARED   ON   THE    EDGE   OF   THE    CLEARING. 

US  with  upraised   trunlvs,  while  cries   of   fury  resounded 
through  the  forest. 

Fortunately  the  tree  in  which  we  were  sheltered  was 
a  safe  refuge   from   an}-  attack,  on  account  of  its  enor- 


BACK    TO   AFRICA.  163 

mous  size  and  strength.  From  one  of  these  gigantic 
trunks,  as  a  parent  centre,  the  banyan  reaches  out  its 
arms,  that  droop  until  they  touch  the  ground,  take 
root,  and  add  new  trees  to  the  old.  In  this  way  I 
have  seen  a  whole  forest  grow  fi'om  three  or  four 
banyan  trunks,  enlarging  on  the  circumference,  until 
the  circle  reaches  some  insurmountable  obstacle  like  a 
lake,  or  river,  or  sandy  waste.  And  so  this  banyan 
that  we  were  in  had  its  offshoots  in  all  directions,  and 
some  twenty  of  them  in  the  immediate  neighborhood 
almost  as  large  as  itself.  The  elephants  soon  recog- 
nized their  impotence  in  reaching  us,  and  at  a  call 
from  their  leader,  drew  off  to  consult.  That  they  can 
comnnmicate  their  ideas  is  certain,  and  was  again 
proved  in  this  case,  for  after  a  time  most  of  the  herd 
calmly  turned  their  backs  and  started  for  the  same 
woods  from  which  they  had  come. 

•'  We  are  saved  I  "  shouted  I,  joyfully. 

"Not  yet.  Sahib." 

"What  do  you  mean  ?     They  are  giving  it  up." 

"  But  they  leave  eight  guards  to  prison  us  here,  until 
we  drop,  from  hunger  and  exhaustion,  into  their  clutches ! 
We  are  likely  to  end  our  days  here." 

A  shiver  ran  down  my  back  as  I  saw  his  prophecy 
fulfilled  by  eight  great  animals  still  lingering  around 
the  tree,  feeding  on  the  clumps  of  fresh  pasture  and 
green  buds  from  the  branches.  Every  now  and  then 
they   came   nearer,    and   raising    their   trunks    in    anger 


104  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

tried  to  reach  us  where  we  sat,  and  coming  high  enough 
to  fan  us  with  their  hot  breatli. 

"  Come,  Thursday,"  said  I,  ''  you  cannot  have  been  so 
skilful  a  hunter  all  these  years  without  having  found 
some  way  out  of  this  predicament,  in  which  you  nuist 
have  been  placed  before." 

I  saw  my  man  was  thoroughly  frightened,  and  I 
resolved  to  try  this  flattery  on  him ;  it  produced  a 
favorable  effect,  although  he  replied  sadly  enough,  — 

'"  Yes,  once.  I  took  refuge  in  a  similar  tree  to  the 
one  we  are  now  in." 

'-  Well  ? " 

''  Well,  the  elephants,  as  now,  placed  sentinels,  and 
I  remained  three  days  without  food  or  drink,  until  I 
could  hardly  hold  on  to  my  branch.  My  wife,  luckily, 
had  been  able  to  escape  the  first  night  of  our  captivity, 
and  she  ran  by  forced  stages  to  the  nearest  village  of 
our  tribe.  All  the  warriors  armed  themselves  and  came 
to  the  rescue." 

''  You  mean  to  say  that  they  dare  to  fight  the  elephant 
at  close  quarters  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no  I  They  came  several  thousand  strong,  shout- 
ing, beating  the  tam-tam,  and  making  a  tremendous 
noise,  for  that  is  what  the  elephant  dislikes,  and  off 
they  went." 

"  And  does  not  your  experience  suggest  any  means 
of  escape  ?  " 

After  reflecting,  he  replied,  — 


BACK   TO  AFRICA.  167 

"Yes,  there  are  two,  —  but  both  dangerous.  We  might 
set  fire  to  the  forest  and  dry  underbrush  around  us.  The 
trees  would  burn  last,  and  there  would  be  a  chance  — 
perhaps  one  in  ten  —  of  our  escaping  alive,  as  the  ele- 
phants would  be  driven  off"  immediately  by  the  burning 
undergrowth." 

"  But  how  would  you  set  the  fire,  when  we  cannot 
leave  this  branch  ?  " 

"  By  lighting  my  cotton  drawers,  and  throwing  them 
down  among  those  dry  leaves  there !  "  he  replied  with 
a  triumphant  smile. 

"Well,'*  said  I,  laughing  at  the  fellow's  ingenuity, 
and  glad  to  see  his  confidence  returning,  ''  if  your  second 
idea  is  less  practicable,  we  will  try  this  one.  But  let 's 
hear  it." 

Just  as  he  started  to  tell  me,  one  of  the  elephants 
came  nearer  the  tree,  and  standing  close  beside  it, 
watching  us  with  angry  eyes,  he  raised  his  flexible 
trunk  as  far  as  he  could,  trying  to  reach  us.  His  hot 
breath  fanned  us  violently,  and  it  gave  me  a  dizzy  feel- 
ing to  see  within  how  few  feet  he  came  of  his  prey. 
Seeing  his  inability  to  quite  reach  us,  the  animal  uttered 
the  most  terrible  noises,  and  his  companions  joined  him 
in  the  assault,  hurling  their  ponderous  bodies  against 
the  tree,  and  shaking  us  as  if  it  were  a  sapling.  One 
of  the  elephants  raised  himself  so  high  that  he  lost  his 
balance  and  went  over  with  a  crash;  before  he  could 
recover   himself,    one    of    the    others    stepped    upon     his 


1G8  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

huge  side,  as  if  it  were  a  hassock,  and  his  trunk 
waved  in  our  very  faces.  Thursday  and  I,  instinctively, 
had  thrown  ourselves  back,  or  one  of  us  would  have 
been  taken  and  crushed.  Quick  as  thought,  Thursday 
buried  his  lance  in  the  enemy's  trunk,  and  the  ele- 
phant dropped  upon  the  ground  uttering  piercing  cries 
of  pain. 

''How  foolish  of  you!"  I  cried;  "you  will  only  add 
to  their  fury." 

"  You  are  mistaken,  massa.  Thursday  is  not  foolish. 
The  intelligent  animals,  having  discovered  by  accident 
the  way  to  reach  our  place  of  refuge,  would  in  five 
minutes  all  be  making  use  of  this  means,  and  we  should 
be  driven  higher,  to  a  less  comfortable  spot." 

He  was  evidently  right,  for  though  the  wound  he  had 
inflicted  could  hardly  have  been  deej),  still,  this  one  of 
our  sentinels  departed  into  the  forest,  whining  like  a 
whipped  child.  For  the  elephant,  in  spite  of  his  great 
mass  and  thick  hide,  is  very  sensitive  to  physical  pain 
when  his  blood  is  not  up  in  a  fight. 

"Now  we  have  only  seven  guards,"  said  I,  triumphantly. 
''If  we  could  only  get  rid  of  them  all  in  the  same  way!" 

"  Don't  be  too  sure,  massa ;  the  substitute  for  this  one 
will  not  be  long  in  putting  in  an  appearance." 

"  Do  you  think  so  ?  " 

'*  I  am  sure  of  it.  I  know  these  animals  only  too 
well." 

"  Then  let  us  hear  your  alternative  method  of  escape." 


BACK   TO  AFRICA.  169 

"  Its  danger  lies  in  our  number.  Were  you  and  I 
alone,  we  might  easily  make  use  of  it.  You  see  these 
almost  horizontal  branches,  running  oft'  to  the  different 
tree  trunks  ?  " 

"Yes.     Well?" 

"  Well,  at  night  we  might,  if  alone,  creep  silently 
along  these,  holding  our  breath,  until  we  reached  the 
nearest  clearing,  perhaps  a  hundred  yards  away,  and 
then  drop  to  the  ground  and  run  for  our  lives." 

"  That  does  not  sound  very  difficult.  What  is  your 
objection  to  it  ?" 

"  Because,  although  he  does  not  see  at  night  so  well 
as  the  lion  or  the  tiger,  still,  the  elephant  discerns 
objects  well  enough  to  guide  himself  in  the  dark,  and 
his  hearing  is  very  acute ;  so  that  at  the  least  noise  on 
our  part,  the  guards  would  follow  us  from  tree  to  tree 
to  crush  us  when  we  dropped  to  their  reach." 

"  Never  mind,  this  is  our  onl}^  chance,  and  we  mui^t  try 
it  to-night,  before  we  grow  weak  from  lack  of  food." 

"  All  right,  but  it  will  be  wise  to  separate  in  couples. 
I  will  take  you  first,  then  my  wife  and  child,  and  the 
two  guides  last,  by  themselves." 

'•Wouldn't  it  be  a  good  idea  for  those  left  behind  to 
make  as  nuicli  noise  as  possible,  to  draw  the  attention 
of  the  elephants,  and  cover  our  retreat?" 

•'  Yes,  and  I  should  not  have  thought  of  it,"  acknowl- 
edged my  guide;  "it  will  double  our  chances." 

'•  Then  you  think  there  is  a  chance  ? " 


170  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

"  Yes,  for  the  first  at  least ;  and  I  am  at  your  orders." 

At  this  instant  we  heard  a  distant  trumpeting. 

"Here  comes  the  substitute  for  the  wounded  elephant," 
said  Thursday. 

"  Are  you  sure  ? " 

"Look!" 

A  hundred  yards  away  a  black  mass  bent  aside  the 
tall  plants  and  young  trees  in  its  way,  disdaining  to 
uproot  them.  It  was  really  an  elephant ;  and  although 
at  first  I  could  hardly  believe  he  came  in  place  of  his 
wounded  companion,  I  saw  from  his  reception  that  he 
was  an  old  acquaintance,  and,  after  greetings  like  those 
I  have  before  mentioned,  he  went  quietly  to  his  station 
"  on  guard."  The  lesson,  however,  had  been  learned,  and 
the  elephants  tried  no  further  assault    on  our  citadel. 

At  the  foot  of  our  tree,  exactly  under  us,  lay  a 
provision  box  containing  the  food  we  had  brought  for 
breakfast  after  the  hunt,  which  in  our  sudden  retreat 
we  had  forgotten  to  take  with  us.  We  should  have 
been  glad  to  have  it  at  this  moment,  for  as  the  sun 
rose  higher  in  the  heavens,  our  hunger  grew  upon  us ; 
and  so  tantalizingly  near  were  some  two  pounds  of  pilot 
bread,  several  boxes  of  canned  meats,  and  half-a-dozen 
bottles  of  wine  and  rum. 

"  How  can  we  get  that  box  ?  "  said  I  to  Thursday  for 
the  tenth  time.     "  We  can't  go  all  day  without  food." 

"  It  is  almost  impossible  to  get  it  up  here,  ]Dut  it  might 
be  done." 


BACK    TO   AFRICA. 


171 


''I'll  give  you  a  bottle  of  rum  if  you  can."     Thurs- 
day's eyes  sparkled  at  the  mere  thought,  as  he  answered, 
•'I  will  drop  to  the  ground,  and  before  the  elephants 


LOOK  ! 


can  reach  the  tree  from  where  they  are  now  grazing,  Avill 
fasten  my  girdle  to  the  box,  so  that  you  can  draw  it  up, 
and  get  back  again  in  safety." 


172  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

"  You  would  do  better  to  have  one  of  your  companions 
go. 

"•No,  I  want  all  the  rum  for  myself." 

"  As  you  like." 

"While  he  was  speaking  he  began  to  unwind  the  coco 
fibre  girdle  that  he  wore,  and  handed  it  to  me,  watching 
our  captors  grazing  at  a  little  distance.  I  tied  a  slip 
noose  in  the  other  end,  and  the  two  natives  stood 
ready  to  heave  on  the  line  when  it  should  be  attached 
to  the  coveted  prize.  Success  seemed  possible,  though 
uncertain,  as  he  gently  slid  down  the  trunk,  on  the  side 
farthest  from  the  enemy.  I  stood  breathless,  watching 
the  latter,  and  ready  to  give  the  signal  that  his  move- 
ments were  noticed.  Everything  went  well  until  he 
touched  the  ground,  when  the  whole  herd  caught  sight 
of  him  simultaneously,  and  charged  upon  him  with 
surprising  speed. 

'•  Back,  quick  !  "  I  shouted,  "  or  you  are  lost !  " 

Without  listening  to  my  caution  he  reached  the  box  at 
a  bound,  raised  it,  passed  the  cord  around  it,  and  the 
natives  drew  it  up  in  an  instant.  Then  the  guide  turned 
to  escape,  but  too  late!  The  furious  brutes  were  not 
ten  paces  from  him,  and  would  have  pulled  him  down 
had  he  started  to  ascend.  He  was  lost!  We  shouted 
and  yelled  to  distract  the  elephants'  attention,  and  the 
woman  and  her  child  uttered  heart-rending  screams,  but 
in  vain. 

The  African  stood  firm,  his  back  ao:ainst  the  tree,  with- 


BACK   TO  AFRICA.  173 

out  arms,  awaiting  his  fate.  He  had  not  an  instant  to 
Hve,  when  —  shall  I  ever  forget  it?  —  with  an  agilitj  and 
strength  that  were  marvellous,  he  sprang  between  the 
approaching  giants,  and  in  a  dozen  bounds  was  at  the  foot 
of  one  of  the  auxiliary  trunks  of  our  banyan  and  half 
way  up  it  I 

He  had  counted  upon  the  difficulty  these  huge  bodies 
have  in  turning  quickly,  and  not  in  vain,  for  their  very 
number  impeded  them ;  and  as  they  tried  to  turn,  closel}* 
packed  together,  they  gave  Thursday  the  few  seconds 
necessary  to  make  good  his  escape,  and  rejoin  us  who 
had  given  him  up  as  lost. 

This  exploit  raised  my  guide  immensely  in  my  opinion, 
for  he  had  shown  address,  coolness,  and  strength  such  as 
few  men  possess,  and  I  could  not  help  pressing  his  hand 
with  real  emotion,  as  he  stood  once  more  beside  me. 

''I  hope  1  have  earned  my  rum,"  was  his  first  very 
practical  thought  and  speech  I 

I  handed  it  to  him,  and  presented  the  rest  of  the  party 
also  with  a  bottle  to  drink  his  health.  The  result  of  the 
adventure  was  that  the  elephants  never  left  us  the  rest 
of  the  day,  and  that  we  made  a  hearty  breakfast  that 
raised  our  spirits  beyond  caring  for  them  or  their  anger. 
—  such  is  the  close  relation  between  the  stomach  and 
courao;e.  As  the  natives  finished  their  rum.  thev  hurled 
the  bottles  down  on  the  elephants  with  all  kinds  of  curses 
and  taunts.  It  seemed  as  though  the  day  would  never 
end.     But  at  last  the  sim  befi:an  its  downward  eoui^se.  and 


174  nrxTixG  l\  the  ji:x<;le. 

we  took  rapid  counsel  in  regard  to  our  attempted  escape. 
When  the  moment  arrived  Thursday  said  simply, — 

''  Give  me  your  rifle,  that  you  may  be  unmcumbered, 
and  follow  me." 

Although  I  had  observed  with  care  the  route  over 
which  I  knew  we  were  to  go,  still,  at  night,  I  found  I 
was  helpless  except  as  Thursday  led  me  like  a  child. 

Our  companions  began  to  sing  and  clap  their  hands  to 
drown  any  sound  of  our  movements,  and,  as  it  was  black 
as  Egypt,  not  even  an  owl  could  have  seen  us.  The  noise 
was  infernal,  and  the  elephants  replied  with  heavy,  deep 
grunts. 

I  seized  the  branch,  and  began  to  crawl  along  it  as 
quietly  as  I  could  behind  my  guide.  With  the  woods- 
man's instinct  he  assisted  me  from  tree  to  tree  five  times, 
and  then  we  rested  to  see  if  we  had  been  followed.  You 
never  heard  such  a  racket  as  those  negroes  kept  up,  but 
we  felt  confident  from  the  elephants'  replies  that  they 
had  not  yet  suspected  our  absence,  and  we  renewed  our 
line  of  march  over  branches  growing  slighter  and  slighter, 
until  we  felt  that  safety  demanded  our  quitting  them  for 
firmer  footing.  As  we  dropped  to  the  ground,  we  knew 
from  the  fainter  sounds  that  we  were  at  quite  a  respecta- 
ble distance  from  our  starting-point,  even  should  the  ele- 
phants undertake  to  follow  us.  Cautiously  we  threaded 
the  dense  forest,  in  darkness  so  complete  I  could  hardly 
see  the  indistinct  outline  of  my  guide  two  paces  ahead  of 
me.     After  an  hour's  march  we  came  at  last  to  the  edge 


BACK    TO  AFRICA.  177 

of  the  forest  and  might  reasonably  consider  ourselves  out 
of  danger.  Thursday  assured  me  of  this  joyful  fact, 
adding.  — 

•'  And  now  I  must  return." 

'•And  leave  me?" 

"  Thursday  must  go  back  after  his  wife  and  child." 

"True;  I  had  forgotten.     And  I?" 

"  Travel  straight  toward  the  south,  keeping  that  star 
always  on  your  left  hand,  and  at  daybreak  you  will 
reach  the  stream  we  crossed  yesterday  and  have  nothing 
further  to  fear  from  wild  beasts.  It  will  then,  and  not 
till  then,  be  safe  to  sleep." 

-All  right." 

'•  I  will  join  you  at  our  last  camp  with  everything  left 
behind  us  in  the  jungle." 

"  I  shall  not  soon  forget  your  devotion  to  my  interests, 
Thursday,  and  —  " 

My  guide  grasped  my  arm  and  drew  me  behind  a  bush. 

'•  I  heard  a  twig  snap,"  whispered  he.  "  We  are 
followed ! " 

•'  By  elephants  ?" 

'•  Oh,  no ;  we  should  hear  them  fast  enough,  without 
any  difficulty."  As  he  said  this  he  imitated  the  note  of 
a  bird,  clear  and  delicious.  The  same  note  was  echoed 
by  a  voice  not  far  distant,  and  in  a  moment  we  had  the 
very  welcome  sight  of  Thursday's  wife  and  boy  coming 
out  of  the  trees'  shadow  and  approaching  us.  This,  of 
course,  altered  our  plans ;  and  we  took  up  our  march  in 

12 


178  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

single  file  toward  camp,  well  pleased  at  our  fortunate 
escape  from  this  dangerous  locality,  where  we  had  seen 
the  African  elephant  in  his  most  terrible  mood. 

The  two  natives  also  got  ott'  scot-free,  and  reported 
later  at  camp,  where  we  celebrated  our  escape  by  the  best 
feast  our  supplies  ali'orded. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

A    FEW    ELEPHANT    STOKIES. 


E  have  seen  one  side  of  the  elephant's  nature  in 
his  wild  state,  but  it  is  only  fair  to  remember 
his  gentleness  and  friendliness  in  captivity, 
which  is  really  voluntary,  because  he  might  with  a  blow 
of  his  trunk  annihilate  his  keepers  and  escape  to  his 
native  jungle.  In  his  long  life  he  often  changes  his 
master,  but  his  allegiance  goes  too  ;  and  he  is  devoted  to 
each,  and  figures  alike  as  porter,  wood-cutter,  errand-boy, 
hunter,  gladiator  in  fights  with  tigers,  and  artillery-man. 
I  have  seen,  in  India,  elephants  let  out  by  their  owners 
as  choppers,  working  like  day-laborers  and  returning  at 
night  to  sleep  at  home,  —  that  is,  at  their  master's.  These 
intelligent  animals,  armed  with  long  axes,  the  use  of 
which  they  have  been  taught,  cut,  at  otherwise  perfectly 
impracticable  heights,  the  gigantic  trees  which  are  used 
in  the  keels  of  vessels,  carry  them  to  the  nearest  port,  and 
deliver  them  to  other  elephants  to  pile,  —  a  feat  which 
they  accomplish  with  the  greatest  regularity  and  with  a 
strengtli  that  no  number  of  men  can  equal.  They  work 
alone,  too,  without  any  special  oversight  on  the  part  of 
the  keeper,  who  often  comes  but  once  a  day  to  note  their 


180  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

progress ;  and  yet  there  is  not  a  case  on  record  where  one 
of  them  has  attempted  to  return  to  his  free  life  in  the 
forest,  or  rejoin  his  former  companions  enjoying  them- 
selves in  the  neighboring  ravines,  while  he  is  working 
hard  on  the  hills  above.  Indeed,  they  grow  to  hate  their 
untamed  cousins,  and  fight  them  —  and  usually  success- 
fully —  at  every  opportunity,  bearing  them  away  in 
bondage  to  their  masters. 

The  English  have  made  use  of  their  enormous  strength 
in  all  the  wars  in  India  and,  more  recently,  in  Africa, 
where  without  them  the  troops  would  have  been  helpless 
to  move  the  artillery,  even  the  lighter  j^ieces,  which  these 
dumb  allies  carried  bravely  into  action  on  their  backs, 
while  their  courage  under  fire  has  been  attested  by  special 
mention  in  reports  from  the  English  officers.  One  of 
them  says :  — 

"  In  our  marches  across  Bengal  we  used  elephants  in  the 
baggage  train,  so  well  disposed  to  us  that,  without  waiting 
for  a  command  from  the  keeper,  if  a  wagon  stuck,  one  of 
them  would  hurry  up,  put  his  mighty  shoulder  to  the 
wheel,  and  never  rest  till  it  was  rolling  on  smoothly  again. 
Then  he  would  return  to  his  own  proper  place  and  duty 
in  the  line  again.  One  morning,  in  the  press  of  wagons 
and  animals,  one  of  the  elephants  was  hurt  by  the  heavy 
wheel  of  a  cart  running  over  his  foot.  I  happened  to  be 
near,  and  bound  it  up  with  a  towel  dipped  in  camphorated 
brandy,  and  tightened  the  bandage  as  well  as  I  could,  and 
off  he  limped  to  his  stable.     In  the  afternoon  I  went  to 


A    FEW  ELEPHANT  STORIES. 


183 


see  how  lie  was  getting  on.  He  was  lying  on  a  bed  of 
straw ;  he  recognized  me  at  once,  and  held  out  his  wounded 
foot  for  nie  to  see.     I  renewed  the  bandage  each  day  ;  and 


HE    HELD    OUT    HIS   WOUNDED   FOOT   FOR   ME    TO   SEE. 


after  that  the  grateful  animal  never  passed  my  tent  with- 
out a  peculiar  cry  which  he  used  for  that  occasion  alone, 
and  when  he  met  me  he  always  gently  rubbed  my  back 


184  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

or  slioulders  with  his  trunk,  uttering  little  sniffs  of 
pleasure." 

Major  vSkinner,  of  the  English  Army,  vouches  for  the 
following  story,  which  shows  on  the  part  of  the  elephant 
intelligence,  memory,  comparison,  judgment,  and  good- 
nature. 

Riding  along  a  very  narrow  trail  near  Kandy,  in 
Ceylon,  where  he  happened  to  be  stationed,  he  heard  the 
heavy  tread  of  an  apjoroaching  elephant,  uttering  discon- 
tented grunts  which  frightened  his  rather  nervous  horse, 
and  made  him  rear  and  plunge.     He  says :  — 

''  I  soon  saw  whence  these  sounds  proceeded.  A  tame 
elephant  had  undertaken  the  difficult  task  of  transporting 
a  long  girder,  resting  on  his  tusks,  over  the  narrow  road. 
Between  the  trees  on  either  side  there  was  not  room  for 
this  to  pass,  and  he  could  only  advance  by  turning  his 
head  from  side  to  side  and  avoiding  each  tree  as  he  went. 
It  was  a  slow  business,  and  no  wonder  he  complained  ;  but 
on  seeing  how  his  trumpetings  frightened  my  horse,  he 
ceased  instantly,  threw  down  his  load,  and  pressed  his 
huge  body  close  up  against  the  trees  on  one  side  of  the 
road  to  allow  us  to  pass.  My  horse  trembled  all  over, 
and  refused  to  move,  seeing  which,  the  elephant  drew 
still  farther  back  and  tried  to  encourage  the  coward  by 
a  gentler  note. 

"  Finally  the  latter  plucked  up  enough  heart  to  dash 
by  on  his  way,  when  the  faithful  elephant  resumed  the 
laborious  errand  in  which  we  had  found  him  engaged. 


A    FEW  ELEPHANT  STORIES.  185 

''  This  elephant  had,  before  the  caiiipaign,  been  used 
as  a  watchman  by  his  owner,  whose  estates  bordered 
on  a  river.  Marauders  would  drop  down  the  stream 
in  their  craft,  and  rob  the  gardens  and  orchards,  and 
lie  off  again  without  leaving  any  other  trace  of  their 
coming  than  the  empty  trees  and  ravaged  beds.  Tired 
of  losing  the  fruits  of  his  labor,  the  owner  had  trained 
this  elephant  to  perform  sentinel  duty  along  the  bank ; 
and,  when  danger  threatened,  the  animal  would  growd 
like  a  dog,  and  filling  his  huge  trunk  with  water  from 
the  stream,  would  play  upon  the  rascals  like  a  fire- 
engine,  drowning  them  out  of  their  boat  like  rats, 
until  they  were  glad  to  hoist  sail  and  make  off  to 
the  best  of  their  ability." 

The  art  of  hunting  the  elephant,  although  of  most 
ancient  origin,  is  practised  to-day  on  a  larger  scale  than 
ever  before,  because  of  the  services  Avhich  the  Ena-lish 
have  found  he  can  perform  for  them.  As  long  as  ele- 
phants were  used  simply  to  add  splendor  to  the  suite 
of  a  rajah,  or  dignity  to  one  of  the  religious  proces- 
sions, it  sufficed  to  hunt  single  animals,  capturing  them 
by  a  decoy  elephant  ridden  by  a  native,  wdio  provoked 
and  held  the  attention  of  the  game,  wdiile  another  ran 
up  behind  and  cleverly  passed  a  chain  around  one  of 
his  legs.  Bound  in  this  way  the  elephant  was  sure, 
under  the  influence  of  starvation,  and  the  example  of 
his  former  companions,  to  yield  eventually  to  his  captors. 
Now  the  country  is  divided  into  "  preserves,"  over  which 


186  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

a  royal  officer  is  appointed,  and  immense  hunting  par- 
ties are  made  up,  and  whole  herds  captured  at  once ; 
although  it  is  no  easy  thing  to  take  alive  and  un- 
wounded  an  animal  that  has  at  once  such  strength  and 
such  intelligence  as  the  elephant.  It  could  not  he  done 
without  the  aid  of  other  elephants,  who  bring  their 
attachment  to  their  masters  to  this  high  point,  and 
having  assisted  in  the  capture,  go  still  fartlier  and  in- 
struct the  captives  in  their  future  duties.  The  trait  of 
obedience  is,  however,  rather  the  result  of  affection  than 
fear,  and  in  this  regard  the  elephant's  docility  is  more 
like  that  of  the  dog  than  of  the  horse.  It  even  leads 
them  to  bear  the  pain  of  the  worst  surgical  operations, 
like  the  l3urning;  out  with  a  hot  iron  of  tumors  or  ulcers, 
or  the  taking  of  the  most  bitter  medicines  at  the  hands 
of  their  "approved  good  masters." 

The  only  way  in  which  the  male's  gentle  temper  can 
be  spoiled  is  by  a  course  of  special  diet  of  certain  kinds 
of  food  ;  and  this  is  the  means  resorted  to  by  their  less 
gentle  masters  when  they  wish  them  to  tight,  —  either 
one  another,  or  their  feudal  enemy,  the  tiger.  In  India 
I  was  once  invited  by  a  Rajah  to  attend  his  celebration 
of  the  Feast  of  Moharem,  where  the  principal  attraction 
is  the  display  of  elephants.     I  accepted,  of  course. 

The  Feast  began  by  a  tiger  fight.  A  space  some  fifty 
feet  square  had  been  fenced  off  near  the  river,  and  we 
occupied  a  special  "  box,"  protected,  in  case  of  accident, 
by  a  bamboo  network  strong  enough  to  keep  the  tiger 


A    FEW  ELEPHANT  STORIES.  189 

out  should  the  fancy  strike  him  to  turn  to  us  for  sport. 
He  was  loosed  into  the  arena,  around  which  he  circled 
several  times,  and  at  last  stopped  directl}'  in  front  of  us 
and  stood  looking  at  us  in  a  way  that  made  me  bless 
the  foresight  that  had  built  the  screen.  But  immedi- 
ately a  buffalo  was  driven  into  the  circle,  and  advanced 
slowly  toward  the  crouching  tiger,  who  was  ready  for  a 
spring.  Seeing  this  he  stopped  short,  his  horns  low, 
snorting  with  anger.  But  the  tiger  paid  no  attention 
to  him,  nor  to  five  more  buffaloes  which  were  let  loose 
one  after  the  other,  treating  them  with  sublime  disdain, 
as  foemen  unworthy  of  his  steel.  A  curious  incident 
happened  just  then :  a  small  dog  fell  into  the  arena 
from  one  of  the  seats,  and  toward  him  ^vith  stately 
steps  the  tiger  stalked,  without,  however,  any  appear- 
ance of  anger.  The  dog,  frightened,  ran  whining  round 
the  edge  of  the  enclosure,  and  after  him  the  tiger, 
faster  and  faster.  Finally,  seeing  he  could  not  escape, 
and  that  one  or  two  more  leaps  would  be  his  last,  he 
turned  and  with  real  grit  showed  his  teeth  to  his  pur- 
suer. We  supposed  he  would  be  crushed  at  a  blow ; 
but  not  at  all.  At  the  instant  the  tiger  was  about  to 
spring  upon  him,  the  brute  seemed  to  change  his  mind, 
and,  like  a  cat  after  a  mouse,  crouched  watching  and 
playing  with  him.  Then  the  Nabob  ordered  them  to 
let  in  the  elephant. 

The  crowd  were  hushed  in   silence.     Either  the  tiger 
must  fight  or  be  killed  ingloriously.     A  gate  opened,  and 


100  HUNTING   IN    THE  JUNGLE. 

the  elephant,  his  keeper  on  his  back,  advanced  into  the 
arena.  At  the  sight  of  the  huge  animal  the  tiger  nttered 
a  long  howl,  which  was  most  evidently  one  of  terror, 
for  he  sprang  against  the  palisade  several  times,  and 
did  his  best  to  break  it  down  and  escape.  At  sight  of 
him  the  elephant  became  madly  excited,  and  made 
straight  at  him,  blocking  his  wild  efforts  at  flight, 
and  almost  trampling  him  under  foot,  before  he  real- 
ized that  fight  was  the  only  alternative.  Then,  and 
only  then,  he  sprang  upon  the  head  of  his  adversary 
and  endeavored  to  maintain  his  hold  with  claws  and 
teeth.  But  the  elephant  wound  his  enormous  trunk 
around  the  tiger's  body,  lifted  hi  in  in  the  air,  and  hurled 
him,  bruised  and  broken,  down  upon  the  ground  twenty 
feet  away.  The  tiger  was  half  dead,  and  wholly  help- 
less, and  lay  where  he  fell  in  a  stupor.  This  exploit 
accomplished,  the  victor  did  not  deign  to  push  his 
triumph  farther,  but  turned  and  saluted  the  Nabob  in 
our  box  as  respectfully  as  would  a  slave,  and  peaceably 
departed  through  the  door  by  which  he  had  entered, 
without  paying  any  attention  to  the  applause  and  cheers 
that  followed  him. 

The  remaining  festivities  were  then  postponed  until 
the  next  day,  when,  after  breakfast  in  the  garden  of  the 
Nabob,  we  adjourned  to  a  tent  on  the  river-bank  at  a 
favorite  bathing-place  of  the  elephants,  where  we  were 
to  see  a  fight  between  two  of  the  largest  of  them.  The 
plain  was  covered  with  a  dense  crowd  of  people,  and  a 


I 


A   FEW  ELEPHANT  STORIES. 


191 


regiment  of  soldiers  and  a  squad  of  cavalry  had  been 
ordered  out  to  do  us  honor,  and  hold  the  crowd  back. 
The  interpreter  explained  to  us  that  it  was  not  properly 


HE    SPRANG    UPON    HIS   ADVERSARY'S    HEAD    AND    HELD    WITH    CLAWS    AND    TEETH. 


a  fight  that  we  were  about  to  witness,  but  rather  a  joust, 
in  which  the  combatants  would  not  try  to  injure  each 
other  seriously,   but   simply   display   their    strength    and 


192  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

skill.  The  two  elephants  were  led  m  by  their  native 
keepers,  and  were  by  all  odds  the  finest  specimens  I 
had  ever  seen.  Of  unusual  size,  with  black,  shining 
coats,  eyes  full  of  fire,  tusks  long  and  perfect,  they 
advanced  with  an  air  of  assurance  that  promised  a 
tremendous  struggle.  At  first  they  approached  each 
other  at  a  rapid  pace  until  within  a  few  feet,  when 
they  stopped  and,  at  the  command  of  their  riders, 
saluted  in  good  Marquis  of  Queensbury  style.  This 
done,  their  keepers  lay  dow^i  upon  their  respective 
elephant's  backs,  and  held  tightly  to  the  girdle  while 
the  fight  began. 

The  tw^o  elephants  sprang  upon  each  other  with  a  shock 
that  threw  them  on  their  hind  legs,  their  trunks  up  and 
intertwined,  swaying  back  and  forth  in,  for  the  riders  at 
least,  a  most  luipleasant  way.  The  plucky  fellows  clung 
fast,  however,  and  encouraged  their  favorites  with  voice 
and  hand.  The  tactics  of  the  pair  seemed  to  be  to  try 
to  force  the  weaker,  or  the  less  adroit,  backward  into 
the  river,  and  after  an  hour  of  intense  effort  and  strug- 
gle, one  of  the  elephants  had  so  far  lost  ground  that  he 
was  compelled  to  jump  into  the  river  to  avoid  being 
throw^n  in.  This  was  supposed  to  end  the  combat ;  but 
his  adversary  insisted  on  following  him  across  the  river, 
in  spite  of  the  united  efforts  of  the  Nabob's  servants 
and  tamers.  The  conflict  was  evidently  to  be  renewed 
on  the  other  bank,  where  the  first  animal  had  taken  a 
favorable  position,  from  which  for  fully  thirty  minutes 


A   FEW  ELEPHANT  STORIES.  193 

he  prevented  the  other  from  landing,  thrusting  him  back, 
at  every  attempt,  into  the  water.  The  fight  was  de- 
clared a  draw,  and  the  prize  —  a  load  of  sugar-cane,  of 
which  they  are  very  fond  —  was  divided  between  them. 

There  were  several  other  combats  of  a  like  nature,  in 
one  of  wliicJi  the  elephants  indulged  in  spouting  immense 
streams  of  water  at  each  other,  but  not  different  in  the 
main  from  the  one  I  have  described.  In  the  evening, 
when  the  crowd  had  departed,  we  were  invited  to  watch 
a  curious  fishing  in  the  river,  with  otters.  These  ani- 
mals, as  clever  as  dogs,  dive  into  the  water,  and,  as 
they  are  taught,  either  drive  the  fish  toward  the  nets,  or 
help  bring  the  latter  ashore,  handling  the  fish  with  their 
jaws  without  hurting  them,  or  breaking  them  at  all. 

The  whole  performance,  lighted  up  by  the  flaring 
torches,  is  most  picturesque.  On  leaving  him  the  next 
day,  the  Nabob  presented  me  with  two  beautiful  ele- 
phants, and  upon  one  or  the  other  of  them  I  rode 
many  miles  through  the  jungle.  Of  one  of  these  fine 
animals  he  told  me  an  interesting  story. 

He  was  originally  the  property  of  an  old  Indian,  rich 
in  gold  and  in  a  young  and  lovely  wife.  The  elephant 
was  a  great  favorite  of  the  latter,  and,  if  one  can  use  the 
term  of  so  large  a  beast,  was  a  family  pet.  Now  the  old 
Brahman  died  soon  after  his  marriage,  and  the  priests  of 
his  religion  endeavored  to  convince  his  widow  that  she 
must  sacrifice  her  life  on  the  funeral  pyre,  in  accordance 
with  the  dreadful  practice  of  their  church.     They  held 

13 


194  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

up  before  her  bright  eyes  the  extraordinary  rewards  that 
she  would  receive  in  the  next  world,  and  the  divine  pleas- 
ures that  awaited  her  in  the  halls  of  Brahma.  Besides 
this,  she  had  the  surety  of  a  sad  life  did  she  refuse  to 
offer  herself  a  willing  victim  to  her  belief  ;  for  a  widow  can- 
not remarry  in  India,  and  she  lives  with  her  own  family 
in  the  greatest  poverty  and  distress,  because  there  is  a 
superstition  that  the  house  is  unlucky  where  a  widow 
dwells,  and  her  relatives  give  her  barely  enougli  to  keep 
body  and  soul  together.  For  this  same  reason  they  are 
nearly  always  as  anxious  to  have  their  widowed  relative 
burned  as  are  the  fanatic  priests  themselves.  But  in 
spite  of  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  upon  her,  this  girl 
refused  to  commit  sntttj,  as  it  is  called ;  and  the  priests 
were  forced  to  use  druo;s  in  her  food,  under  the  influence 
of  which  she  was  induced  to  yield  her  consent.  When 
she  returned  to  herself  she  found  the  priests  rejoicing  over 
a  consent  of  whicli  she  remembered  nothing,  and  saw 
with  horror  their  preparations  for  the  funeral  procession 
and  pyre.  Suddenly  an  idea  occurred  to  her  ;  and  she 
assumed  a  willing  and  inspired  air,  even  offering  to  grace 
the  procession  with  her  husband's  stately  elephants,  on 
one  of  which,  arrayed  in  her  most  gorgeous  dress  and 
jewels,  she  would  ride.  This  pretended  conversion  was 
announced  to  the  people  as  a  new  miracle  and  sign  of 
Brahma's  approval,  and  the  young  widow,  from  being 
scorned  and  insulted,  became  the  heroine  of  the  hour. 
As  the  moment  for  the  last  ceremonies  approached,  she 


A    FEW    ELEPHANT   STORIES.  195 

liad  her  favorite  elepliaiit  trapped  in  all  the  splendor  she 
could  muster,  decorating  him  with  the  silks  and  jewels 
she  herself  could  not  wear,  and  caressing  his  silky  trunk 
until  he  whinnied  with  pleasure.  Mounted  on  his  back, 
she  led  the  procession,  followed  by  the  corpse  in  the 
funeral  palanquin  and  the  paid  mourners  weeping  and 
rending-  the  air  with  mock  lamentations. 

Children  threw  flowers  along  the  road,  and  nautch  girls 
sang  and  danced  beside  it.  The  coolies  had  piled  high  the 
fiery  couch,  and  added  quantities  of  oil  to  make  it  burn 
brighter  and  hotter  around  the  withered  old  flesh  and  the 
fresh,  warm  life  that  were  to  be  consigned  to  it  together. 
As  soon  as  the  cortege  reached  the  pyre,  the  musicians 
began  their  doleful  playing,  and  the  priests  came  for- 
ward to  receive  the  victim.     The  moment  had  come ! 

As  she  did  not  descend  from  her  seat,  the  priests  made 
a  sign  to  the  keeper,  who  ordered  his  elephant  to  kneel, 
and  then  offered  Mariana  his  hand  to  help  her  down. 
But  she  declined  in  toto,  clinging  to  the  elephant's  girdle 
and  uttering  the  most  piercing  shrieks  and  praying  my 
elephant  to  save  her. 

When  the  priests  saw  they  had  been  tricked,  they 
rushed  toward  Mariana  furiously,  fearing  to  lose  their 
victim  ;  but  it  was  too  late.  The  elephant  seized  the 
Brahman  leading  the  wretches,  lifted  him  into  the  air 
with  his  trunk,  and  dashed  him  down  senseless.  In  vain 
the  keeper  called  him  in  tones  of  entreaty  and  command. 
He  was  past  control,  and    knew  only   that   his   beloved 


196 


HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 


mistress  was  in  peril.  Springing  to  his  feet,  he  opened 
a  passage  through  the  crowd  with  tremendous  blows  of 
his  trunk,  before  which  one  or  two  Brahmans  fell  at  each 


HE    WAS   PAST   CONTROL. 


stroke,  crushed  and  injin^ed.  It  became  a  perfect  rout. 
Thirty  or  more  were  killed  or  wounded,  and  many  more 
trodden  under  foot.     Mariana  was  saved ! 


A   FEW  ELEPHANT  STORIES.  197 

As  soon  as  she  reached  the  open  country  she  took  the 
road  to  the  nearest  English  settlement,  and  my  Nabob's 
was  the  first  house  where  she  rested  in  her  flight.  In 
gratitude  for  his  immense  kindness  to  her,  she  gave  him 
her  protector,  the  elephant ;  and  he,  with  the  faithfulness 
I  have  described,  transferred  his  allegiance  to  his  new 
master  and  then  to  me.  Mariana,  meanwhile,  reached 
the  district  magistrate,  a  hundred  miles  farther  on,  in 
whose  family  she  remained  and  with  whom  she  returned 
to  England.  This  is  the  only  case  I  know,  by  the  way, 
of  a  Brahman  voluntarily  going  into  exile. 

The  elephant  plays  an  important  part  in  other  native 
festivals  besides  this  one  of  the  Moharem,  and  I  have  seen, 
in  a  sacred  procession  in  India  at  the  feast  of  Juggernaut, 
over  two  hundred  of  the  native  devotees  called  fakirs 
throw  themselves  down  beneath  the  white  elephants, 
where  they  were  sure  of  being  crushed  under  their 
ponderous  feet. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  the  intelligence  and  memorj' 
of  the  elephant.  In  Ceylon  I  once  saw  a  fine  herd  of 
fifteen  elephants,  used  by  the  chief  magistrate  as  his 
hunting  stud,  lying  under  the  spreading  trees  around  his 
house,  as  is  their  custom.  A  sudden  thunder-storm  came 
up,  with  the  vivid  flashes  and  tremendous  claps  of  thunder 
of  that  latitude ;  when  the  elephants,  instead  of  taking 
refuge  still  closer  under  the  trees,  at  the  first  flash  moved 
quickly  out  into  the  open  away  from  shelter,  stood  stoi- 
cally through  the  down-pour,  and  as  soon  as  the  rain  was 


198  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

over  returned  to  tlie  shade.  I  was  greatly  surprised, 
knowing  how  the  animals  disliked  cold  rain-water,  but 
my  friend  the  judge  quickly  enlightened  me.  Several 
years  before,  one  of  his  hunting  elephants  had  been  struck 
by  lightning  while  standing  under  a  tree  in  the  park,  and 
ever  since  the  herd  had  gone  through  the  tactics  I  had 
observed,  at  the  first  indications  of  a  thunder-storm,  and 
had  taught  all  the  new-comers  the  same  habit  of  safety. 
This  faculty  of  communicating  ideas  is  well  established. 
I  remember  once  trying  to  cross  a  stream  on  the  back  of 
a  favorite  elephant,  when  he  and  all  the  others  in  the 
party,  but  he  first,  absolutely  refused  to  put  foot  into  the 
water.  After  reasoning  with  hini  and  punishing  him, 
and  all  hi  vain,  my  driver  grumbling  all  the  while  at  the 
impossibility  of  altering  his  mind,  I  recalled  that  a  year 
before  at  this  very  ford  he  had  hurt  his  foot  on  a  sharp 
stone  in  the  river-bed.  That  lie  should  have  remembered 
it  was  very  singular,  but  more  so  that  he  could  make 
his  companions  share  his  fear  of  repeating  the  accident ; 
but  that  both  these  things  happened  is  certain,  for  by 
riding  a  few  hundred  yards  down  the  stream  to  another 
ford,  we  had  no  difficulty  in  getting  them  to  carry  us 
over  without  special  urging. 

In  the  Indian  colonies,  especially  on  the  coast  of  Mala- 
bar, where  one  travels  days  through  unbroken  forest  and 
jungle  meeting  only  wild  beasts,  the  postal  service  is  done 
by  a  native  mounted  on  the  most  intelligent  and  fastest 
travelling  elephant  obtainable.     Many  of  the  stories  told 


A    FEW  ELEPHANT   STORIES. 


201 


of  these  mail-carriers  sound  too  remarkable  to  believe  ; 
but  I  remember,  when  the  cholera  was  prevalent  one 
year,  that  the  rider  mounted  on  one  of  these  government 


HE   SET  OUT   AT   A   TREMENDOUS   PACE. 


despatch  animals  died  e?i  route  at  a  miserable  little  vil- 
lage a  day's  journey  and  more  from  his  destination.  The 
chief  of  the  village,  recognizing  from  the  badge  on  the 
forehead  of  the  elephant  that  he  was  in  the  government 


202  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

service,  tried  to  get  him  to  accept  one  of  liis  own  riders 
in  place  of  the  dead  man,  but  he  could  not  accomplish 
it,  for  if  any  one  even  approached  the  body  or  the  de- 
spatches he  broke  into  uncontrollable  fury,  and  effectually 
prevented  any  interference  with  them. 

Seeing  that  his  efforts  were  of  .no  use.  the  chief  let  him 
have  his  own  way,  and  simply  ordered  two  mounted 
soldiers  to  follow  him.  Taking  his  former  rider  and  .the 
mail-bags  across  his  neck,  he  set  out  at  a  tremendous 
pace  for  his  original  destination,  wdiere  he  arrived  without 
stop  in  twelve  hours,  leaving  the  horsemen  far  behind, 
ride  as  they  might. 

Later  this  same  faithful  animal  was  attacked  by  an 
ophthalmia  which  was  pronoimced  incurable  by  the  Eng- 
lish veterinary  surgeons,  and  sold  to  the  Brahman  priests 
of  a  rich  monastery  near  by.  These  skilful  men  cured 
him  so  quickly  as  to  suggest  the  idea  of  a  conspiracy  to 
aid  them  in  getting  so  A'-aluable  an  acquisition  at  a  low 
price.  At  any  rate,  they  made  capital  use  of  him,  sending 
him  far  and  near  within  a  radius  of  thirty  leagues  with 
a  bag  hung  at  his  neck,  into  which  he  put  everything 
given  him,  like  a  good  mendicant  friar ;  and  what  he 
received  he  knew  well  how  to  protect  from  all  comers. 

One  day  I  saw  him  pumping  water  into  the  trough  at 
which  the  animals  belonsrinai;  to  the  friars  drank,  —  for  this 
w^as  one  of  his  regular  duties,  —  but  in  an  unusually  impa- 
tient way  that  attracted  my  attention  to  the  cause.  And 
no  wonder,  for  some  mischievous  rascal  had  put  a  large 


A   FEW  ELEPHANT  ii TORIES. 


205 


log  under  the  end  of  the  trough,  and  as  fast  as  the  water 
flowed  m  at  one  end  it  flowed  out  at  the  other!  He 
seemed  greatly  pleased  to  see   me,  probably  thinking  I 


THE    SKELETONS    OF    HIS    ANCESTORS. 


could  solve  his  difficulty ;  but  I  preferred  to  stand  by  and 
see  him  get  out  of  it  as  best  he  could  by  himself.  After 
several  attempts  to  fill  the  inclined  trough,  and  an  equal 
number  of  pauses  for  reflection  and  grunting,  he  had  an 


206  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

inspiration.  Winding  his  trunk  around  the  trough  at 
the  raised  end,  he  hfted  it  still  higher,  and  with  his  foot 
pushed  the  log  from  under,  replacing  the  trough  at  its 
proper  angle  in  triumph  and  pumping  it  full  with  evident 
satisfaction. 

Indeed,  this  animal  only  lacked  speech  to  he  quite 
human.  The  same  fellow  who  played  this  unhandsome 
trick,  from  which  my  friend  had  come  out  with  such  flying 
colors,  was  always  bothering  the  elephant,  and  finally  this 
bad  treatment  grew  to  such  proportions  that  even  this 
gentle  animal's  patience  came  to  an  end.  Although  he 
might  easily  have  killed  the  offender  with  a  blow  from 
his  mighty  trunk,  he  preferred  to  take  revenge  in  practical 
jokes,  like  crowding  the  man  into  a  marsh  when  dressed 
in  his  best,  or  drenching  him  to  the  skin  with  a  torrent 
of  muddy  water  spouted  from  the  creek,  or  dropping  him 
gently  into  the  centre  of  a  cactus-plant !  His  ingenuity 
in  planning  and  success  in  executing  these  little  annoy- 
ances were  so  great  that  the  unhappy  man  was  actually 
driven  from  the  monastery,  and  sought  employment 
elsewhere. 

It  is  singular  how  widely  distributed  the  elephant  has 
been,  and  in  how  very  few  countries  he  can  now  be  found. 
The  skeletons  of  his  ancestors  are  preserved  in  many  of 
our  museums,  and  their  bones  are  whitening  almost  within 
the  polar  circle,  where  the  whalers  often  find  them,  coated 
with  ice,  their  tusks  adding  to  the  poor  sailors'  prize- 
money. 


CHAPTER   X. 

HUNTING   THE    RHINOCEROS. 

FTER  the  elephant,  the  rhinoceros  is  the  largest 
animal  on  the  globe ;  and  I  have  followed  him 
along  the  great  rivers,  through  the  marshes 
and  dense  forests  of  Southern  Africa,  India,  Java,  and 
Sumatra,  where  alone  he  is  now  found,  although,  like 
the  elephant,  he  was  once  much  more  common.  There 
are  two  varieties  living,  —  one  with  one  horn,  the  other 
with  two ;  and  it  is  to  the  latter  class  that  the  African 
rhinoceros  belongs.  His  eyes  are  small  and  deep-set; 
his  horns  —  one  in  front  of  the  other  —  are  of  different 
size  and  conical  in  shape,  and  not  attached  to  the  bone 
of  the  nose,  but  simply  to  the  skin,  which  is  almost 
hairless  except  at  the  tail,  and  along  the  ears.  He 
lives  in  the  most  untracked  solitudes,  near  the  large 
rivers,  and  especially  where  a  variety  of  acacia  grows 
of  which  he  is  very  fond.  Both  classes  of  rhinoceros 
are,  like  all  vegetable-eating  animals,  fairly  peaceable, 
and  he  never  attacks  without  provocation ;  but  w^hen 
liis  blood  is  up  he  becomes  blindly  furious,  and  his 
strength  and  ferocity  are  without  bounds.  The  deep 
grunting  noise  which  he  makes  ordinarily  then  becomes 

14 


210 


HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNdLE 


a  shrill,  piercing  note,  and  he  rushes  rapidly  straight 
ahead,  overturning  every  obstacle,  uprooting  trees, 
ploughing  the  ground  with  his  terrible  tusks,  and  vent- 


THE   ONE-HORNED   IIUINOCEKOS. 


ino-  his  raii;e  on  whatever  he  meets.  Covered  as  he  is 
with  a  tough  and  little  sensitive  hide,  he  fears  neither 
the  rifle-ball  nor  the  claws  of  the  tiger  and  lion,  and 
even    has   been    said    to    attack    the    mighty    elephant. 


HUNTING    THE  RHINOCEROS.  211 

disembowelling  him  with  his  tusk  at  a  single  blow.  If, 
however,  his  first  attack  is  imsuccessful,  the  elephant 
immediately  crushes  him  w^ith  his  greater  strength  and 
weight,  and  kills  him  before  he  can  make  a  second 
lunge. 

Although  of  little  intelligence,  he  is  sometimes  domes- 
ticated and  his  unreasoning  strength  turned  to  use  about 
the  farm. 

The  natives  are  very  fond  of  rhinoceros  flesh,  and  to 
obtain  it,  take  advantage  of  the  animal's  slowness  in 
turning,  creeping  silently  into  his  lair,  approaching  him 
from  behind,  and,  before  he  can  turn  to  gore  them, 
burying  a  spear  in  his  heart.  Should  the  blow  miss 
its  aim,  the  hunters,  who  practise  this  dangerous  sport 
in  couples,  spring  upon  trained  horses  that  they  have 
in  readiness,  and  are  off  like  the  wind. 

The  animal's  enormous  appetite  and  thirst  prevents 
his  staying  long  in  any  one  spot,  and  only  then,  where 
the  food  is  very  abundant,  as  he  consumes  two  hun- 
dred pounds  a  day.  Besides  the  flesh,  the  horns  are 
greatly  valued  by  the  superstitious  natives,  and  cups 
made  from  them  are  supposed  to  render  harmless  any 
liquor  they  may  contain,  and  knives  and  swords  with 
horn  handles  are  believed  never  to  miss  their  man. 
From  the  heart's  blood  is  prepared  a  sacred  philter  cur- 
ing fevers,  serpent  bites,  and  wounds  received  in  battle ; 
while  from  the  teeth  and  nails  are  made  rosaries  which 
protect  from  spirits,  wizards,  and  even  death  itself.     In 


212  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

Siam  the  horns  are  so  highly  prized  that  the  king, 
wishing  to  especially  honor  Louis  XIV.,  sent  him  six, 
as  the  rarest  treasures  he  possessed. 

There  is  one  point  on  which  naturalists  cannot  agree 
in  regard  to  him,  and  that  is  whether  in  Abyssinia  he 
is  really  used  to  replace  the  ox  in  field  labor.  How- 
ever, this  much  I  know,  that  there  is  a  vast  country 
south  of  Egypt  and  bordering  on  the  Nile,  inhabited 
by  an  ancient  race  which  has  clung  to  life  through 
all  the  vicissitudes  that  have  visited  this  continent. 
Driven  back,  first  by  the  invaders  from  the  South,  and 
then  by  the  conquerors  of  Egypt,  they  owe  their  preser- 
vation to  the  rocky  deserts  among  which  they  retired, 
and  over  the  possession  of  which  no  one  cared  to  dis- 
pute. The}'j|iKJ^  between  the  first  and  second  cataracts 
of  the  Nile!B||P^  have  preserved  many  of  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  old  Egyptian  type.  Their  figures  are 
tall  and  elegant,  their  limbs  well  formed,  but  generally 
slender,  their  coloring  delicate,  and  the  slight  amount 
of  hair  upon  their  faces  is  more  than  compensated  for 
by  the  bushy  growth  upon  the  top  of  their  heads.  This 
silky  covering  is  made  an  even  greater  protection  against 
the  hot  sun  of  their  country  by  their  habit  of  dressing 
it  heavily  with  a  pomade  in  the  shape  with  which  the 
old  Egyptian  monuments  have  made  us  familiar.  Here 
the  rhinoceros  certainly  fulfils  the  mission  of  the  ox,  as 
I  can  testify  from  actual  observation  in  this  home  of 
the   lion,    the    panther,    the   giraffe,    the   bear,    and   the 


HUNTING    THE  RHINOCEROS. 


215 


zebra,  and  so  many  other  animals,  besides  reptiles 
and  birds,  interesting  to  a  naturalist.  I  had  hired  a 
dahabieh  at  Cairo,   and,  with  my  faithful  Thursday  as 


THE   RHINOCEROS   FULFILS   THE   MISSION   OF   THE   OX. 


servant,  joined  another  boat  bound  up  the  Nile.  I 
planned  to  go  at  once  as  far  as  Assouan,  where  the 
first   cataract   of   the   Nile   is,   and   where   the   country 


1^16  HUNTING  IN    THE  JUNGLE. 

of  the  Barabras  begins ;  and  that  from  that  point  I 
would  be  governed  by  circumstances.  It  is  seventy- 
live  leagues  or  so  from  Cairo  to  Assouan,  and  travel- 
ling as  we  did,  only  by  day,  it  took  us  a  month,  —  one 
of  the  pleasantest  of  my  life.  The  shores  are  lined 
with  ruins,  broken  monuments,  temples,  and  palaces  of 
the  Pharaohs,  that  fill  the  most  unimaginative  with 
delightful  dreams  of  the  past. 

One  day  I  was  taking  a  nap  in  the  comfortable  cabin 
of  my  craft,  when  I  heard  loud  cries  of  native  children 
on  the  bank,  and  at  the  same  mome]it  Thursday  came 
running  in  to  call  me  on  deck. 

"  What 's  ail  this  row  about  ?  "  grumbled  I. 

"  Come  and  see  the  wicked  beast  with  a  tusk  on  the 
end  of  his  nose  !  " 

I  left  the  boat  by  the  plank  that  connected  us  with 
shore,  to  find  a  rhinoceros  led  by  a  party  of  Abyssinians, 
who  made  him  perform  antics  like  a  trained  dog.  He 
would  stand  on  his  hind  legs,  lie  down,  get  up,  and  dance 
at  command,  grunting  with  apparent  admiration  of  his 
own  accomplishments.  His  keepers  assured  me,  through 
an  interpreter,  that  it  was  not  an  uncommon  sight  in 
their  own  country,  and  that  they  had  put  the  rhinoceros 
to  all  sorts  of  more  useful  employments. 

It  was  on  this  trip  that  I  had  a  narrow  escape  from 
falling  into  the  jaws  of  "the  river  horse," — hippopota- 
mus, one  of  the  laro^est  of  mammals.  This  animal  can 
never  have  been  very  common  on  the  lower  part  of  the 


HUNTING    THE  RHINOCEROS.  219 

river,  for  you  do  not  see  his  easily  recognized  figure 
among  the  hieroglyphics  with  which  the  temples  are 
filled,  between  the  Delta  and  the  first  cataract.  Nor 
does  Roman  history  often  mention  them  in  the  games  or 
triumphs  of  the  emperors,  which  is  singular,  when  tigers, 
lions,  and  elephants  figure  so  often.  But  farther  up  the 
river  you  meet  him  still,  usually  swimming  very  low  in 
the  water,  with  simply  his  nose,  eyes,  and  ears  above 
its  surface,  and  followed  by  his  mate,  —  for  they  travel 
usually  in  couples.  But  on  the  day  to  which  I  refer, 
this  number  was  increased  to  three,  —  and  huge  speci- 
mens they  were,  —  sunning  themselves  on  the  left  bank 
of  the  river,  and  on  the  back'  of  the  female  rested  a  young 
one,  uglier,  if  possible,  than  its  fond  parents.  We  were 
six  of  us,  only  one  a  native,  rowing  along  the  shore  in  a 
skiff ;  and  one  of  my  companions,  a  Frenchman,  with  the 
careless  thoughtlessness  of  his  race,  raised  his  rifle  and  let 
drive  at  the  youngster.  There  was  a  tremendous  splash- 
ing and  racket,  and  the  water  for  yards  was  stirred  up 
by  the  four  mighty  bodies  diving  into  it  simultaneously. 
A  cry  of  warning  came  from  our  guide,  who  began  jab- 
bering away  in  his  own  lingo  at  a  great  rate. 

"What's  the  beggar  raising  all  this  row  about?"  asked 
the  Frenchman. 

"  Pull  for  3^our  life  !  "  shouted  I.  "  You  '11  have  the 
whole  party  round  us  in  a  minute." 

The  boat  was  a  poor  one  for  speed,  and  we  were  still 
a   long  way  from  the  nearest  point  of   land  when   the 


220  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

snouts  of  tlie  hippopotami  came  to  the  surface  within 
pistol-shot  of  the  stern.  In  a  moment  they  were  around 
us,  threatening  to  crush  tlie  tli warts  of  our  craft  and 
make  two  moutlifuls  of  tlie  wliole  party.  We  dropped 
our  oars  —  for  fliglit  was  out  of  tlie  question  —  and  seized 
our  guns.  Placing  my  barrel  almost  against  the  eye  of 
the  largest,  I  emptied  both  barrels  into  his  head,  and  he 
sank  without  a  gurgle  into  the  muddy  water.  Meanwhile 
the  other  end  of  the  boat  had  been  less  fortunate.  The 
remaining  male  had  fastened  his  massive  jaws  in  the 
gunwale  and  was  crunching  it  like  paper,  while  the 
Frenchman,  the  cause  of  all  the  danger,  was  ineffectually 
belaboring  his  head  with  an  oar,  his  empty  gun  being,  of 
course,  useless. 

Luckily  for  us.  one  of  the  party  had  a  loaded  rifle  and 
some  presence  of  mind  left,  and  to  these  hipi^opotamus 
number  two  reluctantly  yielded,  and  went  to  join  his 
friend  at  the  bottom  of  the  muddy  river.  It  is  really 
curious  how  easily  and  quickly  so  huge  an  animal  will 
die  under  modern  weapons,  when  you  remember  what 
difficulty  the  ancients  experienced  in  killing  large  game, 
and  how  an  entire  army  was  needed  to  cope  with  an  ele- 
phant or  hippopotamus.  But  to  return  to  our  still  rathei 
unpleasant  predicament :  before  the  female  could  reach 
us,  we  were  all  reloaded  and  ready  for  her.  She  seemed 
to  realize  this,  for,  without  waiting  for  our  cordial  recep- 
tion, she  turned  tail  and  made  for  the  other  shore,  leaving 
a  wake  behind  her  like  a  harbor  steamboat.     Reaching 


HUNTING    THE  RHINOCEROS. 


223 


a  long  tongue  of  land  near  the  farther  bank,  she  waded 
through  the  shallows  and  across  it,  disturbing  the  croco- 


DRIVING   THE    CKOCODILES    INTO   THE    WATER. 


diles  sunning  thereon,  and  driving  them  into  the  water 
beyond,  into  which  she  followed  them  and  was  lost  to  our 
sight.     And  not  one  of  the  party  seemed  to  care ! 


CHAPTER   XI. 

LIONS    AND    TIGERS. 


NCE  Hanno,  Emperor  of  Carthage,  on  returning 
from  a  campaign  covered  with  the  trophies  of 
victory,  glittering  in  gold  and  silver,  stood 
before  his  captives.  There  were  five  hundred  of  them, 
naked,  chained  together,  bowed  under  the  yokes  which 
ground  into  their  shoulders,  standing  silent  before  their 
master.  Between  him  and  them  was  a  blazing  brazier. 
Other  slaves,  older  in  years  of  servitude,  were  heating 
the  irons  with  which  the  mark  of  slavery  was  to  be 
branded  in  the  quivering  ilesh  of  the  captives. 

"Stop!"  said  he,  with  an  imperious  gesture.  "Let 
half  of  the  beasts  stand  on  my  right,  and  half  on  my 
left.  Now,  let  those  on  my  left  get  together  the  ma- 
terial and  build  me  a  palace  more  magnificent  than 
any  in  Carthage ;  and  those  on  my  right,  away  with 
them  to  the  desert,  and  let  them  bring  me  home  young 
lions  —  scores  of  them,  and  quickly." 

They  were  free  !  —  two  hundred  and  fifty  men.  Under 
guards  they  departed  for  the  southern  part  of  the  prov- 
ince, where  they  laid  skilfully  arranged  traps  for  the 
"King   of   the   Desert."      They   lay    in   ambush,    armed 


LIONS  AND    TJGERS. 


225 


with  spear  and  arrow  ;  and  when  the  old  lions  fell  into 
the  pitfalls,  they  rushed  upon  the  young,  and  l)y  heroic 
struggles,  Ijody  to  body  and  limb  to  limb,  captured  the 


HE   AND   IIIS   SUITE   APPLAUD   THEIR   BLOOD-THIRSTY  FEROCITY. 

means  to  freedom.  What  feverishly  anxious  nights  they 
must  have  passed !  what  long,  hot  days !  If  one  of  the 
lions    only   was    taken,    and    the    other   returned    while 

15 


226  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

they  were  fighting  the  young,  the  odds  became  terrible 
against  the  would-be  captors.  A  hundred  were  killed 
and  many  more  wounded ;  but  eighty  young  lions  were 
brought  back  to  please  the  powerful  emperor,  who  put 
them  in  a  magnificent  cage  he  had  had  built  especially 
for  his  pets.  Then,  turning  to  the  unfortunate  slaves, 
he  said  disdainfully, — 

"  Here  is  excellent  food  for  my  lions !  " 

Not  a  day  passed  but  he  and  his  suite  were  present 
at  his  favorites'  feast  on  human  flesh,  to  watch  their 
cat-like  gracefulness,  and  applaud  their  blood-thirsty 
ferocity.  As  they  grew  larger  the  emperor  had  their 
teeth  filed  down  and  their  claws  cut,  and  the  trainers 
put  into  the  cage  to  teacli  them  docility  and  prepare 
them  for  his  own  royal  coming.  In  a  few  weeKs  he 
was  able  to  spend  hours  in  the  pleasure  of  their  com- 
pany, his  own  tastes  and  passions  proving  a  bond  of 
sympathy  with  these  fierce  mates.  More  than  this,  in  a 
glistening  chariot  drawn  by  twenty  of  the  handsomest 
lions,  he  drove  through  tlie  rich  quarters  of  Carthage 
carrying  terror  before  him,  and  handling  his  curious 
team  with  a  firm  rein,  while  he  smiled  to  see  his  sub- 
jects fly  in  fear  at  his  approach.  From  these  wild  drives 
he  returned  to  his  palace  satisfied  with  such  glory. 

Meanwhile  the  Senate  and  people  met,  and,  after  brief 
deliberation,  decreed  that  Hanno  should  be  exiled,  under 
the  pretext  that  he  who  could  subjugate  the  lion  might 
think  of  doing  the  same  to  the  freeborn  citizen. 


LIOXS   AND    TIGERS.  227 

Some  3'ears  later,  Mark  Antony  renewed  the  fancy 
of  the  African  monarch.  He  showed  himself  to  the 
Roman  peojDle  in  a  chariot  drawn  by  Numidian  lions. 
Everything  al^out  this  man  Avas  African,  —  his  manners, 
his  table,  his  mistress,  his  death  even.  Once  acclimated 
in  the  Rome  of  the  Ccesars,  the  king  of  the  desert 
was  in  con(2:enial  smToundinfi:s,  well  lodored  and  well 
fed.  It  was  in  the  arena  of  the  Circus  Maximus,  less 
hot  but  more  deadly  than  the  African  sands,  that  his 
strength  was  in  future  to  be  employed.  Pompey  was 
just  made  consul  for  the  second  time,  and,  in  celebra- 
tion of  the  event,  he  held  a  Venatio  in  that  monster  circus, 
where  four  hundred  thousand  spectators  could  be  com- 
fortably accommodated.  Pompey  himself  presides  in  his 
private  box,  and  at  a  signal  from  him,  the  gladiators, 
in  national  costume,  wearing  simply  a  glaive,  and  carry- 
ing a  long  spear,  are  introduced,  to  the  sound  of  music. 
With  them  come  a  crowd  of  augurs,  extemporizing 
on  the  good  or  evil  fortunes  in  store  for  the  warriors. 
Meanwhile  the  long  procession  is  moving  around  the 
podium  in  honor  of  the  twelve  protecting  deities.  This 
first  ceremony  having  been  duly  accomplished,  and  the 
customary  salutes  given  the  consul,  as  master  of  the 
games,  the  cages  are  opened.  Then,  to  the  applause  and 
shouts  of  the  people,  fiercer,  as  Varro  says,  than  the 
animals  themselves,  six  hundred  lions  rush  from  the  ten 
dens.  They  come  with  a  confident  air,  sure  of  them- 
selves and  their  reception,  and  divide,  on  opposite  sides 


228 


HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 


of  the  arena,  into  two  camps,  nearly  equal  in  number. 
A  shout  like  the  roar  of  the  sea,  half  smothered,  is 
uttered  here  and    there  by   the   more   impatient  gladia- 


HIPPOPOTAMI. 


tors,  but  most  of  them  stand  watching  and  taking  the 
measure  of  the  opponent  they  have  selected.  The  spec- 
tators hang  upon  their  every  movement,  with  beating 


LIONS  AND   TIGERS.  229 

hearts  and  panting  breath.  The  actors  are  holding  their 
audience  spellbound  in  suspense  ! 

Gradually  the  combatants  approach,  and,  with  a  bound, 
engage  in  a  terrible  struggle.  At  the  first  shock  the 
weakest  bite  the  dust.  Drunk  with  blood,  the  rest  vent 
their  rage  upon  the  nearest  foe  or  friend.  To  see  them 
tear  and  bite,  one  would  imagine  they  were  revenging  the 
murder  of  a  friend  or  dearly  loved  mate.  They  seize  one 
another  by  the  throat ;  every  muscle  strains  as  they  rend 
each  other  in  pieces.  It  is  frightful  I  It  is  one  continued 
roar,  lit  up,  like  a  thunder-cloud,  by  the  piercing  cries  of 
the  wounded  and  the  mad  shouts  of  encouragement  from 
the  people.  The  dead  bodies  strew  the  arena,  crimsoned 
with  blood  and  whitened  with  froth,  while  dying  glances 
are  cast  toward  the  pitiless  benches,  where  every  Roman 
has  selected  his  favorite  to  praise  if  he  dies  well,  to  curse 
him  if  he  does  not. 

The  applause  dies  away,  and  a  rapt  and  concentrated  at- 
tention shows  itself  on  every  cruel  face.  But  twenty  lions 
remain  !     Suddenly  from  all  quarters  comes  the  cry,  — 

"The  elephants!     Bring  in  the  elephants  I  " 

Once  more  the  sound  of  grating  doors  is  heard,  and  the 
new  champions  enter  the  lists,  swinging  their  trunks,  and 
with  angry  eyes  scanning  the  lower  benches.  Which 
will  conquer  in  this  final  strife  ?  The  elephants  crush  In- 
their  simple  weight ;  the  lions  depend  on  their  quicker 
movements  and  sharp  fangs.  You  hear  the  cracking  of 
broken  bones,  the  spurting  of  blood,  the  sickening  death- 


230  HUNTING   IN    THE  JUNGLE. 

rattle.  The  ground  is  piled  with  dead  and  dying.  The 
elephants  can  hardly  stand,  and  the  lions  have  retreated 
into  one  corner. 

Suddenly  the  leader  of  the  elephants  reopens  the  fight. 
With  a  rush  as  irresistible  as  the  tides,  he  charges  upon 
the  largest  lion,  and  seizing  him  around  the  middle  with 
his  mighty  trunk,  he  lifts  him  high  as  the  tribunes'  seats, 
and  hurls  him  down  a  lifeless  mass  among  his  friends 
again.  Instantly  they  leap  at  hazard  upon  the  heads  of 
their  foes,  and  fasten  their  teeth  and  claws  in  any  soft 
spot  they  can  find,  only  to  be  crushed  against  the  side 
of  the  arena  by  the  agonized  elephants.  And  now,  into 
this  nearly  equal  struggle,  comes  a  third  enemy  —  man! 
A  band  of  gladiators  attack  elephant  and  tiger  alike  with 
their  redoubtaljle  swords,  avoiding  the  maddened  beasts, 
and  dealing  deadly  blows  to  right  and  left.  The  victory 
evidently  will  be  theirs,  when  suddenly  the  elephants, 
wild  with  pain,  turn,  like  bulls,  upon  the  barriers  which 
protect  the  cruel  spectators !  They  wish  to  try  their 
strength  with  the  cowards  who  have  caused  this  needless 
slaughter.  A  panic  ensues.  Even  Pompey  grows  pale 
as  he  sees  the  terrible  vengeance  with  which  his  brutal 
subjects  are  threatened  by  his  less  brutal  brutes.  Human 
blood  is  evidently  to  run  in  the  sands  already  dyed  deep 
in  gore,  when,  at  a  fortunate  moment,  a  handful  of  slaves 
reinforces  the  gladiators,  and  the  danger  is  past.  A  great 
sigh  of  relief  goes  up  from  the  circus,  and  the  enjoyment 
of  the  day  is  complete! 


LIONS   AND    TIGERS.  233 

These  disgraceful  spectacles  lasted  in  Rome  for  four 
hundred  years,  and  resulted  in  the  butchery  of  over 
one  hundred  thousand  lions,  besides  tigers  and  elephants 
to  an  equal  number.  Persia,  Asia  Minor,  and  Arabia 
were  delivered  from  these  dangerous  wild  animals,  and 
it  is  now  very  difficult  to  study  the  habits,  especially  of 
the  first,  except  in  menageries  and,  wild,  in  the  south  of 
India,  Algeria,  and  Arabia.  It  was  in  the  latter  country 
that  I  had  an  adventure  that  proved  conclusively  to  my 
mind  the  curious  lack  of  maternal  instinct  in  the  lion, 
in  which  respect,  as  in  so  many  others,  this  overestimated 
animal  compares  unfavorably  with  the  elephant,  —  the 
real  king  of  beasts. 

One  fine  September  morning,  before  sunrise,  I  left  the 
charming  village  of  Saida,  a  favorite  resort  of  Arabians, 
accompanied  by  two  Arab  horsemen  devoted  to  my  service. 
We  were  mounted  on  superb  horses,  —  types  of  those  for 
wdiich  the  country  is  famous,  —  and  travelled  at  a  break- 
neck pace.  The  river,  which  flows  from  the  high  plateaus 
toward  which  we  were  riding,  makes  a  sudden  turn 
through  the  range  of  mountains  just  above  the  village 
to  which  it  gives  its  name,  and  flows  deep  below  in  a 
gorge  covered  in  with  vines  and  laurel  blooms.  After 
riding  a  regular  steeple-chase  for  fully  an  hour,  we  were 
obliged  to  proceed  at  a  slower  pace,  as  the  soil  became 
more  sandy  and  the  sun  hotter.  At  last  we  were  brought 
to  a  stand-still  by  the  heat,  and  decided  to  rest  in  the 
shade  of  one  of  the  groups  of  trees  that  here  and  there 


234  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

■  dotted  the  desert.  One  of  my  companions  was  telling 
an  interminable  story  worthy  of  the  Arabian  Nights, 
when  suddenly  our  horses  ceased  their  pasture,  tossing 
their  heads  with  distended  nostrils,  and  showing  by  the 
trembling  of  their  muscles  that  some  large  enemy  that 
they  feared  was  not  far  away. 

In  an  instant  we  were  in  the  saddle,  ready  for  anything, 
with  our  guns  lying  across  the  necks  of  our  horses.  We 
rode  them  behind  a  group  of  rocks  a  little  farther  on,  and 
lay  in  ambush  to  see  what  was  approaching.  I  stood  up 
in  my  stirrups,  but  could  not  discern  a  movement  any- 
where in  the  bushes ;  but  after  an  hour  of  tedious  waiting 
in  the  hot  sun,  a  tremendous  roar,  followed  by  sharp 
whines  and  angry  growls,  came  from  the  little  oasis  we 
had  just  left.  Fifty  paces  from  us  appeared  two  lions, 
a  male  and  a  female.  It  was  more  than  we  had  hoped 
for,  and,  in  spite  of  a  hunter's  courage,  I  confess  I  felt 
a  not  unwarranted  nervousness.  To  be  sure,  we  were 
three  to  their  two,  but  even  that  consolation  was  almost 
immediately  taken  away  from  us !  The  female  lay  on  a 
couch  of  leaves,  and  near  her  stood  her  lover,  caressing 
her  in  true  feline  style,  when,  with  a  roar  like  the  ocean, 
a  tremendous  male  sprang  from  the  thicket  and  stood 
with  quivering  tail  and  angry  eyes  before  his  rival.  He 
was  the  stronger  of  the  two,  but  the  first  did  not  hesitate ; 
and  at  a  kind  of  signal  cry  from  the  fair  one,  they  fell 
upon  one  another  in  fearful  fashion.  Each  tried  to  throw 
the  other  off  his  feet  upon  the  ground  to  bite  him.     Their 


LIONS  AND    TIGERS. 


235 


claws  buried  in  each  other's  sides  drew  blood  at  every 
blow.  By  a  feint  full  of  grace  and  agility  the  smaller 
lion  evaded  the  embrace  of  his  enemy  and  sunk  his  fangs 


NEAR   HER   STOOD    HER   LOVER,    CARESSING    HER. 


deep  in  his  flanks.  Over  and  over  they  rolled,  and  each 
movement  brought  them  nearer  us.  We  had  all  we  could 
do  to  hold  our  horses,  and  at  last,  at  a  given  signal,  three 


236  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

rifles  cracked,  followed  by  terrible  roars,  and  the  two  lions 
fell  side  by  side,  dead.  The  female  sprang  to  her  feet  to 
the  rescue  of  her  lovers,  but  her  second  liound  was  her  last, 
and  she  too  joined  ''  the  greater  number  "  and  lay  beside 
her  Romeo.  My  two  Arabs  proceeded  to  skin  the  prizes,  — 
all  very  fine  specimens,  and  one  of  them  of  singularly 
large  size,  —  and  to  dress  the  favorite  parts  for  supper.  I 
must  confess,  to  my  shame,  that  I  never  admired  the 
flavor  or  textvu'e  of  lion  steaks,  and  I  turned  into  the 
thicket  to  find  something  more  to  my  taste.  Along  the 
river  I  shot  a  brace  of  ducks  and  a  superb  grebe  which 
I  was  carrying  back  toward  camp,  when,  in  a  large  fissure 
in  a  calcareous  rock,  I  saw  three  young  lions  on  a  bed  of 
leaves.  They  were  lying  across  one  another,  like  kittens, 
and  were  evidently  quite  Avell  grown.  I  climbed  down 
into  the  crevice,  and.  what  was  ni}^  astonishment,  found 
them  all  dead,  —  strangled,  either  by  the  mother,  to 
whom,  in  her  new  loves,  they  had  proved  an  annoy- 
ance, or  by  the  father,  in  a  sudden  burst  of  anger. 
We'  carried  them  out  of  their  nest,  and  their  skins 
added  to  the  already  large  lor.d  with  which  we  set  out 
again  for  Saida  the  next  morning. 

The  tiger,  to  wdiose  rarity  I  have  above  referred,  is 
to  my  thinking  a  more  royal  beast  than  the  lion,  for 
what  he  loses  in  size  and  brute  strength,  he  more  than 
makes  up  in  grace,  agility,  and  address.  That  this  is 
generally  accepted  in  countries  where  he  lives  is  proved 
by  the  adjective  ''  royal "  which  is  always  coupled  with 


LIONS   AND    TIGERS.  239 

liis  name ;  but  it  is  an  adjective  uttered  with  terror, 
and  not  respect ;  it  is  the  royalty  of  the  tyrant,  and 
not  the  king.  To  him  women  and  children  even  are 
not  sacred,  and  he  sacrifices  them  with  truly  Homeric 
carnage.  Like  a  wolf  in  the  sheepfold  he  enters  the 
houses  of  some  of  the  native  villages,  killing  for 
the  mere  pleasure  of  seeing  and  tasting  warm  blood, 
like  that  king  of  old  who  killed  two  hundred  chickens 
that  he  might  have  a  perfect  soup !  Caring  only  for 
the  freshest-killed  meat  he  disdains  anything  else,  and 
when  hunger  torments  him  again  he  rushes  to  new 
hecatombs.  Like  all  the  cat  family,  he  never  thinks  of 
the  morrow,  but,  in  real  Bohemian  fashion,  lives  for 
to-day  only. 

In  one  of  these  little  Indian  villages,  where  even  yet 
fire-arms  are  a  cause  of  wonder  and  envy,  a  large  man- 
eating  tiger  —  Doo-lu-Shad-uee,  in  their  lingo  —  had  for 
several  nights  in  succession  visited  the  different  houses, 
and  hardly  a  family  but  mourned  the  loss  of  some 
member  of  its  circle.  The  tiger  carried  his  audacity 
so  far  as  to  come  in  broad  daylight,  and,  like  a  wolf 
in  the  fold,  entered  the  houses  while  the  men  were  in 
the  fields,  and  killed  right  and  left. 

I  was  in  the  neighborhood,  and  hearing  of  it,  took 
Thursday  and  my  two  best  rifles,  and  went  to  the  na- 
tives' aid.  These  poor  devils  had  relied  on  their  sor- 
cerer's incantations  to  avert  the  evil  spirit ;  and  he  was 
now  at  his  wits'  end,  and  glad  to  see  us,  you  may  be 


240  HUNTING  IN    THE  JUNGLE. 

sure.  I  hnve  always  respected  a  man's  religious  opin- 
ions ;  and  1  resolved,  if  possible,  while  ridding  the  coun- 
try of  a  monster,  to  do  it  in  such  a  way  as  to  reflect 
the  greatest  credit  on  the  native  beliefs,  especially  as 
I  saw  that  the  priest's  lack  of  success  was  appreciated 
by  the  natives,  and  that  they  were  evidently  losing  con- 
fidence in  superhuman  aid,  preferring  to  trust  to  our 
rifle-barrels  as  a  stronger  staff  in  the  difiiculty  than  the 
reliorion  in  which  every  one  should  trust. 

How  to  arrange  it  was  the  great  question.  The  ani- 
mal had  tasted  human  blood,  and  was  sure  to  return. 
The  very  night  before,  while  the  incantations  were  going 
on  that  were  to  free  the  village  from  his  evil  spirit,  the 
tiger  had  suddenly  appeared  in  their  very  midst,  fasten- 
ing upon  two  of  the  chiefs  at  his  first  bound,  and,  in 
spite  of  their  struggles  and  their  friends'  spears,  he  had 
carried  one  of  them  off,  leaving  the  other  disembowelled 
on  the  ground. 

At  last  an  idea  flashed  upon  me.  I  bought  a  fine, 
healthy  bull  of  one  of  the  Indians,  and  at  night,  accom- 
panied by  my  guide  and  the  sorcerer,  led  him  out  to  the 
edge  of  the  clearing,  beyond  the  last  hut  of  the  village, 
and  tied  him  to  a  stout  bamboo,  on  the  side  of  the 
road  a  dozen  paces  or  less  from  one  of  the  priest's 
pools  of  hallowed  water,  with  which  at  regular  in- 
tervals he  had  surrounded  the  village.  Into  this  basin 
I  poured  a  few  drops  from  a  flask  I  carried,  —  it  is 
needless   to    say    not   of   brandy,  —  and    then    drew   my 


LIONS  AND    TIGERS.  243 

companions  into  a  natural  hiding-place  behind  a  lot  of 
water  plants  not  unlike  sugar-cane.  I  gave  Thursday- 
two  rounds  of  ammunition,  but  cautioned  him  under 
no  circumstances  to  fire  without  explicit  orders  from 
me  when  and  how  to  do  so.  We  had  lain  nearly  an 
hour  in  this  pleasant  spot,  drinking  in  malaria  and 
marsh  fever,  wdien  the  tiger  appeared.  It  was  a  beau- 
tiful moonlight  night,  and  we  could  see  him  advancing 
at  a  stately  pace,  his  wide  black  bands  moving  rapidly 
enough  to  give  him  the  appearance  of  being  entirely 
brown,  just  as  the  quick  turning  of  a  colored  disk 
leaves  only  a  white  impression  to  the  eye.  He  came 
with  head  up,  a  superb  sight  (see  frontispiece),  and  wdien 
ten  yards  from  us  scented  us,  as  well  as  the  bull, 
and  paused,  evidently  torn  with  conflicting  desires,  and 
uncertain  how  best  to  gratify  his  insatiable  stomach, 
gorged  wdth  human  blood  from  over  forty  victims  the 
night  before.  His  lips  parted,  showing  a  set  of  sharp, 
ugly  teeth  ;  his  skin  wrinkled,  especially  over  his  fore- 
head ;  his  nostrils  quivered,  distending  to  their  widest 
at  the  prospect  of  such  delicacies ;  and  his  eyes  gleamed 
with  cruel  anticipation.  It  seemed,  lying  there  within 
one  of  his  bounds,  as  though  he  took  a  long  time  to 
decide.  At  length  he  crouched  ready  to  spring,  but 
whether  upon  the  bull  or  us  it  was  impossible  yet  to 
tell.  My  gun  was  at  my  shoulder,  the  barrel  pointed 
between  those  wicked  eyes.  There  was  a  moment  of 
intense    suspense.     The   poor  bull    tried   to  break   away 


244  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

from  its  chain,  and  failing  miserably,  uttered  a  heart- 
rending sound,  and  lowered  his  horns  toward  the  tiger 
to  ward  off  death  for  a  little,  at  least.  The  tiger  drew 
himself  together  like  a  steel  spring,  and  Ijounded  upon 
him  with  such  force  that  he  threw  him  upon  his  side  ; 
then,  climbing  upon  his  massive  shoulders,  the  cruel 
beast  opened  his  throat  with  the  precision  of  a  butcher, 
and  then  lay  flat  on  his  stomach,  in  the  midst  of  his 
feast.  The  bull  made  ineffectual  efforts  to  roll  over 
and  smother  his  assassin,  l3ut  the  latter  was  not  to  be 
shaken  off.  The  blood  poured  into  his  thirsty  throat 
in  great  gulps ;  it  w^as  frightful  to  see-  The  tiger 
revelled  in  delight,  and  seemed  to  long  to  be  able  to 
swallow  more  quickly.  One  cannot  conceive  such  vo- 
racity. He  had  opened  the  stomach  of  the  now  pas- 
sive bull,  and  absolutely  swam  in  blood,  tearing  off 
bits  of  smoking  flesh  here  and  there,  in  a  terrible 
frenzy,  drunk  with  pleasure,  and  fe\erish  with  a  name- 
less lust. 

Once  cold,  the  body  lay  neglected  ;  and  the  monster 
turned  to  us !  Could  he  be  hungry  after  such  a  feast 
of  Sardanapalus  ?  Probably  not.  In  fact,  we  saw  him 
advancing  slowl}',  his  tongue  hanging  out,  his  eyes 
heavy,  his  gait  almost  staggering,  toward  the  pool  of 
holy  water,  which,  when  he  reached,  he  buried  his  hot 
head  and  flanks  in  its  refreshing  water,  wallowing  like 
a  "  river  horse  "  in  its  coolness.  I  could  not  help  laugh- 
ing aloud  at  the  success  of  my  plan,  and  my  companions 


LIONS   AND    TIGERS.  247 

looked  at  me  in  terror,  thinking  I  had  lost  my  senses 
under  the  last  half-hour's  excitement. 

As  the  poison  I  had  poured  into  the  pool  began  to 
affect  the  beast,  he  uttered  several  piercing  yet  half- 
strangled  cries,  and,  with  a  few  rapid  contortions,  fell 
over  dead. 

The  next  morning  the  whole  village  assembled  to  do 
us  honor,  and  express  their  admiration  of  our  prowess ; 
but,  finding  our  guns  had  not  been  discharged,  and  that 
it  was  at  the  sacred  pool  that  the  "  man-eater "  fell, 
they  experienced  that  religious  terror  to  which  unedu- 
cated races  are  so  susceptible,  and  bowed  before  the 
priest,  whom  they  found  mightier  than  the  beasts  of 
the  forest.  This  feeling  was  encouraged  by  my  giving 
him  the  skin  and  teeth  of  the  tiy;er,  —  the  former  nieas- 
uring  four  yards  from  nose  to  tail,  —  and  we  left  them 
performing  one  of  their  curious  dances  in  honor  of 
their  all-puissant  deities. 

They  tell  a  queer  story  in  India  of  an  Englishman 
who  came  out  to  add  a  tiger's  head  of  a  certain  size 
to  his  already  large  collection.  He  sought  a  district 
renowned  for  its  immense  tigers,  armed  simply  with  a 
long  sharp  dagger  like  those  formerly  carried  in  Venice, 
and  a  curious-shaped  travelling  box.  When  the  latter 
was  opened,  it  proved  to  contain  a  full  suit  of  plate 
armor ! 

Clothed  in  steel  from  head  to  foot,  dao-o-er  in  hand, 
this — to  say  the  least  —  original  hunter  walked  at  night. 


248  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

like  Hamlet's  father  on  the  platform,  along  the  shore 
of  a  pond  where  game  came  to  drink.  On  the  second 
night  a  huge  tiger  sprang  upon  him  from  behind,  and 


THE    TIGER   STKA.IXED    ITS   JAWS   OX    THIS   MA.N    OF    IRON. 

felled  him  at  a  blow.  The  cool  Englishman  lay  per- 
fectly still,  feigning  to  be  dead,  while  the  tiger  broke 
its  claws  and    strained   its  jaws   on   this   man  of    iron ! 


LIONS  AND   TIGERS.  249 

Finally,  seeing  just  the  right  opportunity,  the  English- 
man plunged  his  poisoned  dagger  deep  into  the  tiger's 
heart,  and  the  latter  fell  without  a  sound.  When  re- 
monstrated with  for  waiting  so  long  in  such  a  danger- 
ous embrace,  he  calmly  replied :  ''  I  wanted  to  be  sure 
that  his  head  was  exactly  the  right  size  before  killing 
such  a  superb  specimen,  and  having  satisfied  myself  on 
this  point,  I  waited  a  moment  to  strike  home  without 
injuring  the  part  I  was  after ! " 


CHAPTER  XII. 

A  LETTER  FEOM  THE  NIGER. 


OTHING  was  too  good  for  us  in  the  eyes  of 
the  priest,  who  felt  that  he  owed  us  much  for 
the  defence  of  his  religious  authority,  and  he 
set  his  parishioners  the  example  by  placing  everything 
he  owned  at  our  disposal.  Rice,  tobacco,  tea,  and  spices 
were  offered  us  ad  libitum,  and  every  house  seemed  to 
wish  the  honor  of  lodging  us. 

Declining  what  we  could  without  hurting  their  feel- 
ings, we  lived  partly  on  these  delicacies,  and  partly  on 
our  own  good  stores,  and  continued  on  our  way  farther 
inland ;  for  my  hunting  passion  —  like  the  tiger's  thirst 
for  blood  —  had  been  whetted  by  the  night's  adventure, 
and  I  longed  for  another  sight  of  this  terrible  wild  beast. 
Before  night  I  reached  the  home  of  a  powerful  rajah 
whom  I  had  before  visited,  and  whose  hospitality  I  had 
been  able,  in  slight  way,  to  repay.  He  welcomed  me 
with  the  pomp  of  an  Oriental  reception.  An  army  of 
servants  was  immediately  placed  at  my  orders,  and  a 
state  hunt  appointed  for  the  next  day.  These  gala  cere- 
monies are  always  offered  to  strangers  whom  the  Indians 
wish  to  honor,  however  short  their  visit  may  be. 


A   LETTER   FROM   THE   NIGER. 


251 


At  break  of  clay  we  set  out  in  an  imposing  array. 
Twelve  elephants,  brilliantly  trapped,  bore  the  rajah, 
the  principal  officers  of  his  suite,  and  your  humble  ser- 


A    GUEPARD,    OR    HUNTING   TIGER. 


vant,  13'ing,  like  the  Romans  at  their  feasts,  on  our 
backs,  under  the  howdahs.  Beside  us  lay  several  good 
rifles,    and    behind    each    of    us,    his    eyes    bandaged,    a 


252  HUNTING   IN    THE  JUNGLE. 

guepard,  or  hunting  tiger.  This  curious  animal,  half- 
tiger,  half-leopard,  is  famous  for  his  extraordinary  eye- 
sight, his  speed  in  running,  and  his  courage  in  attack. 
At  the  same  time  he  is  a  thoroughly  good-natured 
and  submissive  companion,  and  makes  a  capital  hunter 
besides. 

There  were  some  hundred  men  in  the  party,  besides 
porters,  servants,  and  cooks,  and  we  journeyed  by  short 
stages  in  really  royal  style.  No  one  ever  complains  of 
the  sleepy  slowness  of  an  elephant's  gait.  You  enjoy 
the  scenery,  you  are  rocked  by  his  gentle  movement 
into  the  happiest  frame  of  mind,  and  you  "  get  there." 

After  three  days  of  this  ideal  travelling,  one  of  our 
advance  couriers  came  in  to  say  that  a  tiger  was  re- 
ported in  the  neighborhood  of  one  of  the  near  villages, 
and  we  all  prepared  for  an  exciting  day.  I  had  my 
rifles  cleaned  and  my  ammunition  and  knives  inspected, 
and  resolved  to  give  a  good  account  of  myself.  We 
found  that  the  tiger  carried  off  daily  a  bull  from  the 
fields,  and  escaped  with  it  into  a  densely  grown  marsh 
a  few  miles  away.  Hardly  had  we  reached  the  locality 
before  the  guepards  gave  unequivocal  signs  that  they 
detected  the  presence  of  our  game.  Armed  with  spears, 
the  men  began  to  beat  the  bushes,  much  as  if  they 
were  simply  after  hares.  Still,  as  they  did  not  seem 
to  mind  the  danger,  I  could  not  see  why  I  should  worry 
about  them,  though  I  sat  ready  with  gun  in  rest  on  my 
elephant's  back. 


A   LETTER   FROM   THE  yiGER. 


25^ 


The  plan  was  successful ;  for  two  enormous  tigers, 
as  large  as  the  one  I  had  "  enchanted,"  bounded  out  of 
the  hioii  underbrush  like  youno;  cats.  Our  men's  cries 
and  the  general  hubbub  confused  them  and  made  them 
lose  their  heads,  and  they  ran  back  and  forth  without 
any  plan  or  method.  Suddenly  one  of  them  sprang  at 
my  elephant,  full  in  the  face,  as  is  their  favorite  method 
of  attack.  Before  I  could  come  to  the  rescue  with  my 
rifle,  the  no- 
ble beast  had 
calmly  torn  the 
brute  from  its 
hold,  hurled 
it  upon  the 
ground,  and 
placed  his  pon- 
der ous  fore- 
feet, one  on  its 
flanks  and  one 
on  its  head !  I  felt  a  violent  jerk  and  shock,  and  heard 
the  cracking  of  bones  like  the  sound  of  a  tree  broken  by 
the  force  of  the  tempest ;  and  I  saw  the  beast  flattened 
under  the  weight  of  the  massive  pacliyderui.  The  lat- 
ter, proud  of  his  deed,  never  lost  his  dignity  or  temper 
for  an  instant,  and  I  showered  caresses  and  sugar  upon 
him  in  reward  for  his  prompt  courage.  Meanwhile  the 
other  tiger  had  not  remained  inactive.  He  had  suc- 
ceeded   in    bringing   down    a  3'oung  elephant,  on  which 


THEIK   FAVORITE    METHOD    OF    ATTACK. 


254  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

was  mounted  a  son  of  the  rajah,  now  on  his  first  hunt ; 
the  hitter,  however,  had  the  good  sense  to  desert  his 
mount,  and  leave  the  poor  thing  to  its  fate. 

Immediately  we  all  let  loose  our  guepards,  which  fell 
upon  the  prey  with  their  sharp  teeth  and  indomitable 
courage.  The  fight  became  general  ;  the  wounded  tiger 
lield  its  own  against  the  numerous  foe,  putting  several 
liors  du  combat,  laying  them  open  with  its  fearful  claws. 
or  meeting  its  fangs  in  their  throats.  The  struggle  was 
intense,  and  the  rajah's  enjoyment  of  it  was  too,  for  he 
would  not  let  me  end  it  with  a  shot  from  my  good  rifle. 
After  some  minutes  of  this  kind  of  thing  he  gave  his 
men  a  siscnal,  and  thev  surrounded  the  combatants  and 
with  their  spears  put  an  end  to  the  tiger,  and  drew  off 
the  limping  guepards. 

On  my  return  I  found  the  following  letter  from  an  old 
hunting  companion  in  Africa  :  — 

My  dear  Friend,  —  There  are  days  when  I  envy  you 
your  lot.  In  the  immense  plains  of  the  Ganges  you  meet 
only  enemies  that  attack  openly,  and  from  whom  you 
fear  no  surprise  ;  but  here  everything  is  different.  As  you 
know,  we  have  to  fight  and  watch  constantly ;  and  it  is 
not  the  natives  that  annoy  us  the  most,  for  a  few  shots 
will  drive  them  away.  In  fact,  on  the  banks  of  the  Niger 
all  is  not  roses.  In  the  first  place,  there  is  the  terrible 
fever  which  you  draw  in  at  every  breath,  and  to  which  the 
strongest  man  succumbs  in  two  days.     You  have  had  a 


A    LETTER   FROM   THE   NIGER.  255 

touch  of  it  yourself,  and  will  remember.  There  is  besides 
another  foe  —  the  leopard  —  with  which  the  country  is 
infested ;  and  knowing  your  fondness  for  hunting  adven- 
tures, I  will  write  you  of  this  traitorous  enemy,  whom 
you  have  met  so  often. 

I  started  on  an  expedition  last  October,  as  I  wrote  you, 
taking  a  thousand  men,  infantry  and  marines,  from 
several  regiments  stationed  at  St.  Louis.  Some  native 
tribes  encamped  between  the  Senegal  and  the  Niger  were 
to  be  vigorously  punished  for  having  intercepted  supplies 
and  insulted  explorers  of  the  upper  Niger. 

This  delicate  mission  was  confided  to  me,  and  I  was  not 
sorry  to  get  into  active  warfare  again.  We  marched  by 
easy  stages,  carrying  a  month's  provisions.  One  hundred 
of  my  men  had  charge  of  a  herd  of  cattle  and  sheep 
which  we  took  with  us,  and  from  which,  each  day,  we 
obtained  our  fresh  meat.  The  very  first  day  out,  the 
adjutant  commanding  this  important  four-footed  division 
came  to  me,  pulling  his  mustache  in  consternation,  to  say 
that  ten  head  of  sheep  had  disappeared,  and  that  he  could 
not,  for  the  life  of  him,  tell  where  or  how.  The  guard 
had  been  posted  and  relieved  as  usual,  and  the  men  were 
as  much  annoyed  as  their  officer.  I  was  puzzled  over 
this  and  subsequent  daily  thefts  from  our  live-stock,  both 
cattle  and  sheep,  by  the  dozen,  and  began  to  fear  that 
the  crafty  natives  were  following  us  and  taking  advantage 
of  the  darkness  and  their  knowledge  of  the  forest  to  steal 
our  supplies ;  and  I  resolved  to  surround  our  stock-yard 


256  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

with  an  added  number  of  guards.  They  had  orders  to 
close  in  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  mysterious  thief  and 
surround  him.  About  midnight  I  was  aroused  by  the 
lieutenant  calling  into  my  tent,  "  It  is  a  leopard ;  shall 
we  fire  ?  "  Hardly  taking  time  to  dress,  I  seized  my  rifle 
and  hurried 'out  after  him,  to  convince  my  rather  sceptical 
mind  of  his  information.  It  was  light  enough  to  read, 
and  a  superb  moonlight  night.  We  found  the  sentinels 
at  their  posts,  the  cattle  sleeping,  and  everything  quiet ! 
I  laughed  at  the  lieutenant  and  his  false  alarm,  which 
made  leopards  out  of  shadows. 

"  No,"  said  he,  "  I  saw  the  leopards  as  clearly  as  I  see 
you.  They  run  at  the  least  noise,  never  wishing  to  risk 
their  spotted  hides  if  they  can  help  it ;  and  I  know  I  was 
not  mistaken." 

I  felt  sure  the  young  man  was  at  fault,  but  turned  back 
to  my  tent,  simply  cautioning  him  to  keep  on  the  alert 
and  report  any  further  alarm  at  once.  Just  as  I  reached 
my  canvas  home,  an  enormous  body  fell,  without  the  least 
warning,  from  the  thick  foliage  above  it,  landing  a  few 
feet  away  from  me.  It  was  a  leopard ;  and  had  it  fallen 
upon  me,  I  should  not  now  be  describing  the  fact  to  you, 
for  he  would  have  crushed  me  as  flat  as  a  pancake.  I 
called  for  help,  and  at  the  same  time  discharged  my  rifle, 
aiming  for  his  glowing  eyes.  The  shot  told,  and  he  rolled 
over  dead.  Several  shots  followed  immediately  from  the 
sentinels,  and  the  whole  camp  ran  out  to  see  what  was 
up.     In  a  moment  we  were  on  the  field  of  action.     A 


A   LETTER   FROM   THE  NIGER.  259 

dozen  leopards,  that  had  lain  in  ambush  behind  tree 
trunks  and  branches  like  sharpshooters,  had  instinctively 
betrayed  themselves  at  the  noise  of  shooting,  and  had 
taken  flight  at  hazard  among  the  guards.  When  we 
arrived  the  excitement  was  at  its  height.  The  leopards, 
wounded,  and  held  in  a  circle  of  gun-barrels  that  they 
could  not  break,  were  using  all  their  agility  to  get  through 
our  lines.  Several  sprang  upon  our  soldiers  and  tried  to 
strangle  them.  One  corporal  was  completely  laid  open, 
and  we  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  saving  him  from 
his  furious  foe  in  this  mangled  condition.  Two  other 
men  saved  themselves  at  close  quarters  by  using  their 
revolvers,  and  one  his  sabre ;  and  my  tent  is  now  softly 
carpeted  with  seven  magnificent  leopard  skins,  the  results 
of  the  fray. 

My  friend's  letter  reached  me  at  an  unfortunate  time 
for  reply ;  and  I  had  arrived  at  Java  —  that  country  so  rich 
in  archaeological  remains  and  animal  life  —  before  I  could 
give  it  the  attention  it  deserved.  After  matters  of  merely 
personal  interest,  I  described  to  him,  in  return  for  his 
stories,  an  example  of  the  curious  veneration  for  some 
animals  felt  by  the  superstitious  islanders. 

"  The  Prince  of  Djokjokarta,  a  kind  of  Javan  sultan, 
loved  to  surround  himself  with  extravagant  pomp.  One 
day  he  started  from  his  palace  to  visit  his  subjects,  accom- 
panied by  a  superb  escort  all  robed  in  white.  He  was 
carried  upon  a  magnificent  dais,  covered  with  gold  and 


260  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

precious  stones.  Four  slaves  waved  perfumed  fans  of 
ostrich  feathers  above  his  head,  while  others  watched 
his  slightest  beck  and  nod  ;  and  before  and  behind  him 


BEFORE   AND    BEHIND    UIM    MARCUED    AN    INNUMERABLE    TRAIN. 

marched  warriors,  guides,  and  hunters,  —  an  innumerable 
train.  The  first  night,  as  they  were  travelling  through 
the  forest,  they  heard  a  dreadful  noise  above  their  heads 
in  the  foliage  of  a  large  tree.     It  sounded  like  a  panther ; 


A   LETTER   FROM   THE  NIGER.  261 

and  they  immediately  formed  a  hollow  square  around 
their  sovereign  to  protect  him  from  the  dangerous  beast, 
while  a  noted  hunter,  named  The  Sun,  advanced  a  few 
steps  to  see  what  threatened  them.  His  long  lance  witli 
its  silken  and  golden  haudle  was  beside  him,  and  he  was 
ready,  if  necessary,  to  die  for  his  king.  Suddenly  disorder 
ran  through  the  ranks  ;  the  torches  were  unexpectedly 
extinguished ;  every  one  cried  out  and  gesticulated,  and 
fell  upon  the  supposed  enemy,  and  wounded  one  another, 
until  a  terril^le  shriek  pierced  the  night,  followed  by 
intense  silence.  Then  The  Sun  relit  his  torch,  and  was 
horrified  to  find,  in  a  pool  of  blood,  a  sacred  monkey, 
dead  and  stiff ;  and  a  laugh  went  up  from  all  the 
frightened  men,  but  the  Prince  sat  silent  and  grave. 

"' Who  has  killed  this  inoffensive  animal?'  thundered 
he. 

'' '  It  is  I,  great  Prince  ;  I  pierced  him  with  mj-  lance, 
to  protect  you  from  danger.' 

"  '  Who  autliorized  you  to  shed  blood  ? ' 

"The  Sun  hung  his  head  in  silence  ;  and  at  a  sign  from 
the  despot,  he  was  seized  by  the  soldiers,  and  chained  to 
a  cart  that  followed  the  procession.  He  knew  that  death 
was  the  invarial^le  penalty  for  wounding  one  of  these 
venerated  animals,  and  although  he  was  a  great  favorite 
of  the  sultan,  he  could  hope  for  no  mere}'. 

"When  the  journey  was  ended  he  was  called  before  his 
master,  who  said,  — 

"'If  I  give  you  your  liberty,  what  will  you  do  with  it?' 


262  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

"  And  the  abject  Sun  replied,  — 

" '  Light  of  the  Day,  I  will  devote  it  to  adoring  you.' 

•'  Now  the  next  day  was  one  of  fete,  and,  to  add  to 
its  festivities,  the  judges  of  the  people  decided  that  The 
Sun  should  undergo  the  proof  from  the  black  panther, 
and  if  he  got  out  of  the  unequal  contest  alive,  he  should 
be  reinstated  in  his  honors  as  guiltless. 

"  The  Prince  approved  this  judgment,  feeling  confident 
in  his  favorite  minister's  courage  and  strength,  and  left 
the  choice  of  arms  to  him.  He  selected  the  short  Ceylon 
poniard  and  a  bit  of  wood  shaped  like  a  dumb-bell. 

"  Toward  the  end  of  the  day,  when  its  heat  was  some- 
what spent,  the  amusements  began  in  the  court-yard  of 
the  palace.  A  light  tent  was  drawn  over  it,  and  from 
the  cornices  hung  marvellous  stuffs  from  Eastern  looms. 
The  Prince  made  his  entry  on  a  tremendous  elephant,  lost 
beneath  a  pile  of  sumptuous  trappings,  and  surrounded 
by  all  the  court  dignitaries,  with  their  servants  and 
bearers.  When  the  Prince  dismounted  they  threw  them- 
selves down  upon  the  ground,  and  he  walked  upon  their 
prostrate  forms  to  his  seat,  whence  he  viewed  the  mar- 
vellous dancing  of  his  nautcli  girls. 

"  After  the  sensuous,  the  cruel.  Two  men,  their  heads 
covered  with  turbans,  and  wearing  masks  with  eyeholes, 
appeared,  each  with  a  long  rod.  They  drew  near,  and 
after  crossing  rods  like  fencers,  began  to  lash  one  another 
in  rhythmical  time,  as  if  they  were  hammering  iron.  Un- 
der each  swishing  blow  the  flesh  writhed  and  the  blood 


A   LETTER   FROM  THE  NIGER.  265 

spurted.  It  was  a  horrible  sight,  brought  to  an  end  when 
one  of  the  contestants  acknowledged  he  could  stand  no 
more.  It  was  impossible  to  tell  by  appearance  which  the 
victor  was,  so  sore  and  scarred  were  they  both. 

"  Finally  a  cage  was  dragged  out,  in  which  was  a 
magnificent  black  panther,  as  large  as  a  tiger.  He 
seemed  timid  before  so  many  people  and  such  bright 
lights,  and  had  to  be  urged  out  from  behind  his  bars 
with  a  goad,  and  even  then  took  refuge  behind  a  post, 
where  the  buffalo,  let  loose  to  fight  him,  attacked  him 
furiously.  It  was  evident  at  once  which  would  be  the 
victor.  The  buffalo  went  like  a  shot  from  a  rifle,  bury- 
ing his  horns  in  the  flanks  of  the  panther,  and  crush- 
ing him  against  the  palisades,  goring  him  through  and 
through.     He  uttered  but  one  cry,  and  was  dead. 

''  The  Prince  ordered  another  panther  freed.  It  was  a 
female,  smaller  and  fiercer  than  the  first,  that  came  run- 
ning in,  like  a  cat  in  haste.  Her  eyes  glowed  viciously, 
and  instead  of  waiting  an  attack,  she  sprang  at  a  bound 
above  his  head,  and  fastened  her  cruel  teeth  and  claws 
deep  in  the  back  of  his  neck.  The  bull  made  a  thousand 
turns  to  free  himself  of  this  foe  that  was  sapping  his  very 
Hfe.  He  rubbed  against  the  palisade,  he  rolled  over  and 
over  upon  the  ground,  he  sprang  clumsily  into  the  air ; 
but  the  panther  stuck  as  if  riveted  to  him.  At  last  the 
great  animal  succumbed,  sinking  in  his  own  blood,  in 
which  the  ferocious  panther  positively  revelled,  wallow- 
ing in  gore,  and  tearing  her  prey  in  pieces.     Indeed,  so 


266  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

reluctant  was  she  to  let  aro  that  she  was  drac^g;ed  the 
length  of  the  arena  by  the  attendants  as  they  removed 
the  remains,  and  was  safely  locked  up  with  them  in  her 
cage  again. 

"'Now  the  time  was  come  for  the  proof  of  The  Sun, 
who  entered  with  the  simple  arms  he  had  chosen,  and 
placed  himself  facing  his  king,  whom  he  saluted.  One 
could  not  help  admiring  his  coolness,  as  he  stood  with 
folded  arms  awaiting  the  test ;  the  panther  was  loosed 
from  the  opening  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  arena,  his 
hair  on  end,  his  back  creasiny  like  a  cat's,  ready  for  a 
leap,  his  tongue  protruding  between  his  gleaming  teeth. 
Suddenly  he  drew  himself  together,  and  unbent  like  a 
spring,  bounding  in  a  graceful  curve  upon  his  prey.  The 
sliock  must  have  been  frig;htful,  but  it  did  not  overthrow 
the  man,  nor  did  he  lose  his  presence  of  mind.  With  his 
left  hand  he  forced  the  wooden  block  between  the  angry 
jaws,  which  closed  upon  it,  and  with  his  right  he  buried 
his  poniard  in  the  beast's  shoulder.  The  latter  fell  in  a 
limp  heap,  tearing  The  Sun's  knee  with  his  claw  as  he 
fell.  This  was  his  only  wound ;  and  he  had  strength  to 
reach  his  despot's  throne,  and  be  received  back  into  favor 
by  this  easily  convinced  monarch.  For  my  own  part,  I 
prefer  to  trust  to  the  average  jury !  " 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

ANOTHER    OF    THE    CAT    FAMILY. 

WAS  fishing  when  Thursday,  his  hair  standing 
on  end  and  his  eyes  like  the  setting  sun,  came 
running  toward  me.     He  was  breathless  and 
speechless. 

"  Have  you  seen  the  ghost  of  your  ancestor  ? " 
He  shook  his  head,  but  still  could  not  speak.  Evidently 
something  serious  was  the  matter.  All  he  could  do  was 
to  point  to  a  little  island  left  in  the  stream  by  the  falling 
waters,  but  about  which  I  could  see  nothing  extraordinary. 
When  I  started  to  move  in  that  direction,  the  one  from 
which  he  had  just  come,  he  grasped  me  firmly,  and 
nothing  could  shake  him  off.  "•  Let  me  go,  coward  !  " 
said  I ;  '^  or  at  least  let  us  climb  into  this  tree,  where 
we  can  see  something  besides  these  everlasting  marshes." 
The  idea  seemed  to  strike  him,  for  in  a  twinkling  he  was 
in  the  lower  branches  of  the  tree,  where  I  rejoined  him, 
and  where  a  curious  sight  greeted  me.  A  jaguar,  the 
fiercest  of  the  cat  family,  was  a  few  yards  away  peace- 
fully engaged  in  fisliing.  I  could  hardly  believe  my  eyes. 
But  there  he  crouched,  —  an  enormous  specimen  fully  six 
feet  long  besides  his  tail,  that  would  measure  a  yard  more, 


268 


HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 


watching  with  his  piercing  eye  the  water  below  him.  He 
was  absolutely  motionless,  and  you  would  have  thought 
him  stuffed ;  but  his  jaws  rested  almost  on  the  surface  of 


THE   JAGUAR   PEACEFULLY   ENGAGED    IN    FISUING. 


the  stream,  and  upon  its  waters  there  fell  noiselessly  the 
saliva,  to  which  the  fish  will  rise  as  to  a  bait,  whereupon 
he  struck  them  on  to  the  beach  with  a  sure  aim  that 


ANOTHER    OF   THE   CAT  FAMILY.  269 

never  failed  to  land  his  game.  In  an  hour  I  saw  him 
catch  fifty  of  different  sizes,  with  the  same  instinct  and 
pleasure  that  a  house-cat  catches  the  gold-fish. 

Suddenly  the  scene  changed.  The  avenger  of  the  in- 
nocents appeared  in  the  shape  of  a  number  of  crocodiles. 
In  an  instant  twenty  open  jaws  rose  from  the  surface  of 
the  water  and  moved  toward  the  jaguar,  who  retreated 
slowly  into  the  brake,  followed  by  the  crocodiles.  Upon 
the  leader,  who  was  a  monster,  the  jaguar  pounced,  tooth 
and  nail,  and  tried  to  sink  his  fangs  into  the  unyielding 
armor  of  his  hide,  while  the  crocodile  wound  his  snake- 
like body  around  the  foe,  and  strained  every  muscle  to 
strangle  him.  Never  did  I  see  a  finer  wrestling  bout ; 
and  the  jaguar  was  getting  the  best  of  it,  when  the  croco- 
dile's friends  came  to  the  rescue,  like  dogs  upon  a  quarry. 
Soon  a  dozen  lay  dead,  all  killed  in  the  same  w^ay,  —  their 
throats  cut  clear  across  with  a  jagged  tear,  through  which 
the  blood  poured  and  their  breath  escaped  in  uneven  gasps 
like  puff's  from  a  bellows.  The  jaguar  limped,  and  could 
hardly  stand ;  for  the  terrible  amphibians  had  crushed  his 
haunches,  breaking  the'  bones  and  dislocating  the  joints. 
He  killed  now  simply  for  the  pleasure  of  killing.  The 
sight  and  smell  of  j^lood  intoxicated  him,  and  when  the 
few  remaining  crocodiles,  wounded  and  terror-struck,  un- 
dertook to  escape  into  the  stream  again,  he  assumed  the 
offensive  and  barred  their  retreat.  With  a  few  blows 
from  his  claws  he  added  them  to  the  slain,  and  remained 
victor  on  the  field  of  battle.     But  his  triumph  w\as  short. 


270  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

Even  while  he  was  slaking  his  fever  in  long  draughts 
from  the  yellow  stream,  his  bloody  jaw  dropped,  his  eyes 
lost  their  light,  and  he  rolled  over  dead,  in  the  very  spot 
where  I  had  watched  him  fishing  at  first. 

I  took  pleasure  in  making  the  cowardly  native  take 
off  his  magnificent  skin,  which  decorates  my  study  floor 
as  I  write. 

It  was  the  beginning  of  the  rainy  season.  Twenty 
servants  accompanied  me,  carrying  provisions,  arms,  and 
ammunition ;  and  my  hunting-fever  being  on  me,  I  was 
resolved  to  see  more  of  this  interesting  and  beautiful 
animal,  the  jaguar. 

The  forest  proved  to  be  of  an  almost  impenetrable 
luxuriance,  and  the  problem  seemed  to  me  to  reach  any 
game,  even  when  we  knew  they  were  near.  I  almost 
resolved  to  try  our  old  plan  in  Ceylon,  where  the  same 
conditions  prevail,  —  of  setting  fire  to  the  woods  on  three 
sides  of  a  square  and  stationing  the  hunters  on  the 
fourth. 

The  native  ingenuity  overcame  this  difficulty  when  the 
time  came,  —  namel}^,  the  second  afternoon  after  we  had 
gone  into  camp.  The  peculiar  cry  of  a  jaguar  was  heard 
at  some  distance  in  the  forest,  and  immediately  ni}^  head 
guide  detailed  a  native  to  perform  the  feat  of  drawing 
him  toward  us.  This  fellow,  naked  save  the  cloth  around 
his  middle,  climbed  a  tall  tree  near  us,  like  a  squirrel. 
From  this  height,  seated  astride  a  branch,  he  began  to 
imitate  the  calls  and  sobs  of  a  young  monkey  in  distress. 


ANOTHER   OF   THE    CAT  FAMILY.  273 

He  did  this  perfectly,  but  so  loud  did  it  sound  in  the  now 
silent  forest  —  for  the  jaguar's  cry  had  ceased  instantly  — 
that  I  could  not  help  fearing  he  had  scared  away  the 
prize. 

'^' Do  not  believe  it,"  said  Thursday.  "These  fellows 
know  what  they  are  about,  and  you  will  see  the  brute 
drop  upon  our  friend  in  a  few  minutes,  like  a  stroke  of 
lightning." 

''But  the  poor  fellow  has  no  arms.     lie  will  be  killed." 

Thursday  shrugged  his  shoulders  nonchalantly,  as  if 
"who  cares?" 

Hardly  had  he  finished  when  the  native  uttered  a 
piercing  shriek,  and  a  terrible  hand-to-hand  struggle 
began  in  the  tree-top.  The  jaguar  had  approached 
silently,  by  light  bounds  from  branch  to  branch,  and 
when  within  reach  made  one  last  one  upon  the  sup- 
posed monkey.  Great  confusion  reigned.  The  natives 
rushed  frantically  roimd  the  base  of  the  tree,  trying  to 
lasso  the  beast,  when  they  caught  sight  of  his  spotted 
hide  through  the  leaves.  Finally  one  more  skilful  than 
the  rest  caught  his  noose  around  the  hind  quarters  of 
the  jaguar,  and  brought  him  down  limb  by  limb,  but 
directly  upon  himself.  We  could  not  get  a  shot  with- 
out killing  the  man ;  and  his  friends,  whose  lassos  would 
have  done  good  service,  fled  incontinently  and  left  him 
to  his  fate.  The  jaguar,  fortunately,  was  well  held,  and 
every  frantic  bound  he  made  to  free  himself  tightened 
the    noose    and    slowly    strangled    him.     Watching   our 

18 


274  HUNTING   IN  THE  JUNGLE. 

opportunity,  in  one  of  these  leaps,  Thursday  and  I  gave 
hiui  each  our  quota  of  cold  lead,  and  he  fell  dead  beside 
the  native. 

I  supposed  the  latter,  too,  was  killed,  of  course ;  but 
not  at  all.  His  shoulder  was  laid  open,  but  not  badly, 
and  after  a  few  days  he  was  round  with  the  rest, 
against  whom  he  seemed  to  harbor  no  ill-will  for  their 
cowardliness. 

A  great  American  hunter,  whose  books  are  famous, 
told  me  that  the  jaguar  is  harmless  enough  until  he 
sees  or  tastes  blood.  Then  nothing  will  control  him  ; 
he  is  mad  for  more,  and  simply  kills  blindly  to  satisfy 
this  passion.  He  told  me,  that  returning  one  day  from 
the  fields  he  had  found  three  negroes  lying  in  their  blood, 
and  a  pet  jaguar,  that  had  always  seemed  perfectly  sub- 
missive and  friendly,  hidden  behind  some  bags,  ashamed 
of  the  fury  that  a  sudden  sight  of  flowing  blood  had 
occasioned  in  him.  He  looked  for  all  the  world  like 
a  dog  that  expected  a  thrashiug  for  some  fault. 

"We  have  a  wild-cat,"  said  he,  ''beside  which  the  jaguar 
is  a  lamb.  I  was  travelling  once  among  the  Indians  of 
South  America,  and  came  to  a  little  village  of  a  friendly 
tribe,  where  my  party  was  most  hospitably  received. 
The  best  hut  in  the  village  and  the  best  food  and 
drink  were  given  us  with  a  grace  civilization  does 
not  know.  When  we  awoke  in  the  morning  the  village 
was  in  an  uproar,  and  all  our  friends  bore  signs  of  the 
liveliest  distress  on  their  faces.     We  found  a  great  mis- 


ANOTHER    OF   THE   CAT  FAMILY. 


275 


fortune  had  fallen  upon  tlieni.  Part  of  their  wealth  had 
been  annihilated.  The  meadow  where  they  pastured 
their  sheep  had  been  visited  by  a   wild-cat,   a  hundred 


THREE   NEGROES   LYING   IN   THEIR  BLOOD. 


sheep  left  dead  upon  the  plain,  and  the  rest  frightened 
away  into  the  woods,  where  it  was  very  difficult  to  find 
them. 


276  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

"  The  Indians,  true  to  their  nature,  swore  revenge,  and 
I  remained  a  few  days  to  see  how  they  would  accomplish 
it.  The  mighty  hunters  of  the  tribe  arrayed  themselves 
in  sacks,  in  skins,  and  in  coverings  of  leaves  and  moss, 
and  lay  in  wait  in  the  meadow  among  the  dead  sheep, 
and  the  squaws  covered  them  over  so  completely  they 
could  hardly  breathe,  during  the  thirty  hours  they  had 
to  remain  in  hiding.  All  this  time,  of  course,  they  were 
without  food.  But  the  second  day,  toward  noon,  the 
cat  appeared;  and  we,  in  the  huts,  watched  with  eager 
eyes  his  stealthy  advance  from  bush  to  bush.  As  soon 
as  he  reached  the  pasture  he  stopped,  sniffing  the  air 
and  glancing  in  every  direction  to  see  if  he  was  observed. 
To  make  more  sure  he  climbed  a  tree,  and  sat  there 
watching  several  minutes.  Seeing  nothing  he  sprang  at 
a  bound  to  the  earth  to  resume  his  gorge.  Immediately 
the  Indians  were  up,  and  twenty  arrows  laid  the  thief 
low.  He  fell  without  a  cry,  and  the  hunters  began  a 
mad  dance  around  his  body,  while  the  shouts  and  songs 
of  the  children  and  squaws  showed  the  joy  felt  in  the 
success  of  the  ruse.  The  village  divided  the  meat,  which 
is  too  rank  and  gamey  for  me,  and,  with  a  little  rum 
from  my  stores,  made  a  wild  night  of  it." 

Seeing  my  interest  in  his  stories,  the  American  offered 
to  tell  me  some  curious  adventures  with  bears,  and  dur- 
ing the  next  few  days  he  amused  me  with  those  you 
will  find  in  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

AN  American's  adventures. 


WAS  hunting  in  the  mountains,  rather  aim- 
lessly it  must  be  confessed,  when  I  ran  across 
an  old  she-bear,  bearing  in  her  jaws  a  lot  of 
roots  and  vegetables,  as  if  returning  from  market.  I 
followed  her,  for  the  bear  seldom,  if  ever,  attacks,  unless 
outrageously  provoked,  and  I  was  curious  to  see  the 
family  to  which  she  was  evidently  taking  this  food.  In 
a  crevice  in  the  rocks,  near  the  top  of  a  ledge,  lay  five  — 
instead  of  the  traditional  three  —  cubs,  and  looking  down 
upon  them  I  saw  her  divide  the  delicacies  with  maternal 
impartiality  among  her  tumbling  offspring.  She  treated 
them  in  the  most  affectionate  and  caressing  manner,  and 
they  answered  her  in  like  fashion,  presenting  a  most 
charming  family  picture.  Several  days  later  I  returned, 
to  find  the  young  scamps  playing  round  the  base  of  the 
cliff  and  the  old  lady  away.  They  w^ere  like  young  dogs 
in  feature  and  gentleness,  but  their  color  was  a  tawny 
yellow,  relieved  with  a  white  necklace.  They  w^ere  ap- 
parently about  two  months  old,  and  I  resolved  to  kidnap 
two  for  domestication.  I  selected  two  at  hap-hazard,  and 
seizing  them  by  the  nape  of  the  neck,  dropped  them  into 


280 


HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 


a  bag  I  had  brought  for  the  purpose,  and  carried  them 
off  to  my  camp.  Later  m  the  day  I  returned  to  see  how 
the  family  fared  without  two  of  its  members,  and  I  was 


THE    BEAR   IN    CAPTIVITY. 


liorror-struck  at  the  sight  I  saw.  I  was  about  to  enter 
the  crevice,  to  find,  as  I  supposed,  the  sleeping  cubs, 
when  I  perceived  a  huge  animal  at  the  back  of  the  cave 


AN  AMERICAN'S  ADVENTURES.  281 

eating  its  poor  young  I  —  eating  with  a  gusto  and  drinking 
the  warm  blood  greedily.  I  drew  back  and  pushed  a 
large  stone  against  the  entrance,  and  lighting  my  bag, 
which  was,  of  course,  hemp,  and  burned  readily,  I  tossed 
it  into  the  bed  of  dried  ferns  and  leaves  behind  my  im- 
provised prison-bar.  The  dry  stuff  caught  instantly,  and 
the  smoke  and  flame  poured  out  of  the  cracks,  while  the 
unnatural  father  made  frantic  efforts  to  escape  from  the 
fiery  furnace  to  which  I  had,  without  recourse,  condemned 
him,  and  in  which  I  had  the  satisfaction  to  see  his  bad 
deeds  punished. 

•^  When  the  unhappy  mother  returned,  she  v/andered 
inconsolably  over  the  country  for  a  week  and  then  dis- 
appeared. Soon  after,  I  was  in  a  neighboring  town  visit- 
ing a  clergyman  whose  parsonage  overlooked  the  parish 
burying-ground.  He  told  me  —  with  real  apprehension, 
too  —  that  ghosts  had  recently  disturbed  his  household's 
quiet,  and  that  it  was  all  he  could  do  to  keep  his  super- 
stitious servant  from  leaving  him  alone  upon  his  haunted 
hearth.  I  interrogated  Gertrude,  and  found  that  upon  a 
tomb  erected  to  one  who  had  died  without  the  sacrament, 
'  like  a  dog,'  on  two  successive  nights  she  had  seen  a 
ghost,  nodding  and  prostrating  himself  in  real  ghostly 
fashion.  I  don't  believe  much  myself  in  that  kind  of 
nonsense ;  and  I  resolved  to  watch  with  servant  and 
master  the  next  night,  when,  sure  enough,  the  perform- 
ance was  repeated ;  but  to  my  sceptical  eyes,  even  at  the 
distance  of  our  window  from  the  grave-yard,  by  a  very 


282  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

earthly  animal  walking  upon  four  legs.  I  could  never 
have  convinced  either  of  them  of  this  had  not  the  servant 
come  running  in  the  next  day  at  dinner-time  to  say  that 
a  bear  was  in  the  garden  eating  sweets  stolen  from  my 
host's  beehives,  and  on  my  pursuing  him,  hroom  in  hand, 
had  he  not  retreated  through  the  fence  into  the  grave- 
yard. It  immediately  occurred  to  me  that  this  was  our 
unhappy  ghost,  and  I  resolved  to  see  if  the  death  of 
the  former  would  not  relieve  us  of  the  presence  of  the 
latter. 

"  The  priest  readily  consented,  and  I  proceeded  to  lay 
my  plans,  after  which  I  retired  behind  a  garden-house 
and  awaited  developments.  As  I  had  expected,  the  bear 
returned  after  a  few  hours  to  finish  his  interrupted  feast, 
glancing  around  suspiciously  and  advancing  with  the 
greatest  caution,  watching  the  windows  of  the  parsonage 
and  starting  like  a  guilty  thief  at  every  noise.  When 
he  reached  the  scattered  sweets  he  began  to  make  away 
with  them  most  gluttonously,  at  every  gulp  showing  an 
increased  pleasure  in  his  feast  and  an  added  gayety  of 
demeanor.  After  the  last  bit  had  disappeared  he  began 
a  series  of  clumsy  gambols  like  a  dance,  ending  in  his 
falling  on  his  back  with  his  legs  in  the  air  and  his  eyes 
closed  in  contentment  —  or  sleep.  Slipping  from  my 
hiding-place,  I  crept  cautiously  up  and  buried  a  knife 
deep  in  his  shoulder  where  I  knew  it  would  do  the  most 
good.  He  never  stirred.  The  parson  was  greatly  sur- 
prised at  my  success,  until  I  confessed  that  a  quart  of 


SEIZING   TWO   BY   THE    NAPE    OF   THE    NECK,    I    DROPPED    THEM    INTO    A    BAG. 


AN  AMERICAN'S  ADVENTURES. 


285 


good  alcohol  was  really  responsible  for  the  ease  with 
which  Bruin  had  dropped  asleep,  and  that  it  was  an 
added  argument  against  the  use  of  stimulants ! 


EATING   STOLEN    SWEETS    FROM    MY    HOST  S   BEEHIVES. 


" '  And  now,  my  dear  fellow,'  said  I,  '  we  will  sup  from 
I  broiled  bear's  feet,  if  Gertrude  is  as  skilful  a  cook  as  I 

I  take  her  to  be.' 


286  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

"  Gertrude  distinguished  herself,  and  prepared  them  to 
perfection  ;  but  she  would  not  eat  of  them  herself,  because 
there  was  something  human  about  their  appearance ;  and 
although  I  told  many  stories  of  the  brute's  cruelty  and 
very  inhuman  ways,  nothing  would  alter  her  resolution, 
and  we  finished  them  easily  without  her  ! 

"  There  is  nothimi;  more  interestino;  or  curious  than  the 
bear's  life,  —  alone,  in  hiding  among  the  rocks  and  deep 
in  the  lonely  forests ;  and  between  him  and  the  orang- 
outang; there  is  a  strong;  resemblance  in  instincts  and 
intelligence.  One  of  the  most  cruel  varieties  of  bear  is 
the  white  one  found  in  Norway  and  Siberia,  where,  among 
the  superstitious,  he  is  credited  with  almost  divine  char- 
acteristics, and  even  his  lonely  way  of  life  is  considered 
a  sign  of  profound  wisdom.  They  bring  him  their  crimi- 
nals for  judgment ;  and  if  the  latter  are  imeaten  after 
striking  him  on  the  nose,  they  are  pronounced  guiltless ! 
The  Siberians  have  a  queer  w^ay  of  hunting  the  bear. 
One  day  I  had  landed  at  a  small  towni,  and  found  the 
people  in  a  wild  state  of  excitement.  A  bear  had  come 
from  the  nei2;hboring;  woods  and  carried  off  a  woman 
to  his  fortress,  and,  Ijy  chance,  had  selected  the  prettiest 
girl  in  the  village  and  a  recent  bride.  I  advised  an  imme- 
diate pursuit  of  the  ravisher,  and  headed  a  small  party 
w^hich,  wdth  the  aid  of  dogs,  was  soon  on  his  track.  We 
had  provisions  for  several  days,  and  the  hunters  were 
all  armed  with  small-bore  guns  and  long  knives  at  their 
belts,  and  their  courage  aroused  for  any  emergency,  far 


AN  AMERICAN'S    ADVENTURES.  281) 

beyond  its  usually  very  gentle  pitch.  They  felt  like  the 
avenging  Greeks,  and  that  their  honor  as  fathers  and 
husbands  was  at  stake.  We  beat  all  the  bushes,  hunted 
all  the  caves,  and  scaled  all  the  ledges,  without  stirring 
a  mouse.  The  dogs  trotted  along  in  front  with  their 
ears  down,  as  if  no  game  were  within  a  hundred  miles ; 
and  the  relatives  of  the  stolen  girl  had  begun  to  calculate 
how  nearly  their  relative  could,  by  that  time,  have  been 
eaten,  when  one  of  our  scouts  ran  in  to  say  he  had  seen 
the  bear.  Under  his  guidance  we  soon  reached  the  spot, 
and  the  dogs  were  let  loose  upon  him  without  further 
delay.  He  stood  upon  his  hind  legs,  and  dropped  heavily 
upon  the  dogs  when  they  came  within  his  reach,  crush- 
ing and  strangling  several.  But  one  or  two  caught  him 
by  the  throat  and  stomach,  and  were  only  shaken  off 
after  they  had  drawn  blood  in  no  stinted  streams. 

''  The  bear  uttered  angry  growls  and  advanced  slowly 
upon  us.  Meanwhile  the  natives  had  set  up  crotches  in 
the  ground  on  which  to  rest  their  light  guns,  in  which 
I  took  little  stock,  and  were  preparing  to  open  fire  on 
liim  when  T  interfered.  My  own  heavier  arm  was  loaded 
with  ball,  and,  after  waiting  till  he  had  come  within 
modest  range,  I  aimed  over  a  crotch  and  fired,  killing 
him  instantly.  The  dogs  rushed  upon  him,  and  we  had 
to  beat  them  off  with  our  guns  in  order  to  get  the  body, 
which  was  carried  in  state  to  the  village,  and  a  regular 
feast  inaugurated.  The  husband  of  the  lost  girl  insisted 
on  an  immediate  autopsy ;  but  not  a  particle  of  his  better 

19 


290  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

half  could  be  found  in  Bruin's  stomach,  and  he  had  to 
console  himself  with  the  skin,  which  was  voted  him  by 
popular  consent. 

''  We  had  hardly  reached  the  village  when  the  missing 
girl,  her  hair  flying  and  garments  torn,  rushed  in  as  if 
followed  by  his  Satanic  Majesty  himself.  It  seems  the 
bear  had  treated  her  most  gallantly,  giving  her  food  in 
his  mountain  fastness,  and  watching  her  with  the 
greatest  apparent  admiration  and  without  offering  her 
the  least  violence.  In  the  morning,  when  the  bear 
started  on  a  foraging  expedition,  she  escaped  over  the 
barriers  he  had  left  at  the  entrance  to  his  den  ;  and 
while  we  had  been  interviewing  him,  she  had  made  the 
best  of  her  way  back  to  the  village,  running  all  the 
way. 

"  I  had  another  bear  adventure,"  continued  my  friend, 
"  which  resulted  in  the  capture,  alive,  of  a  very  large 
specimen.  He  had  taken  refuge  in  a  hole  beneath  the 
roots  of  a  mighty  tree,  where  it  was  impossible  to  get 
at  him  unless  we  should  dig  him  out  like  a  rat ;  so  I 
arranged  nooses  around  the  opening  and  placed  my  men 
at  some  distance  from  the  tree,  each  holding  an  end  of 
rope.  When  Bruin  put  out  his  head  to  see  if  the  coast 
were  clear,  we  .drew  our  nooses  tight  around  his  neck 
and  held  him  helpless.  We  took  him  into  the  town  and, 
finally,  on  board  the  vessel,  where  he  became  thoroughly 
at  home  and  a  prime  favorite  of  all  the  men,  especially 
the  cook,  in  whose  quarters  he  was  usually  to  be  found. 


A.\   AMERICAN'S  ADVENTURES. 


291 


warming  himself  lazily  before  the  fire,  and  superintending 
solemnly  the  culinary  proceedings. 

"We  landed  in  Norway  to  coal;  and  the  bear,  whom 


HIS   HEAD   WAGGING   ABOVE   THEM   WITH    EEAL   ELOQUENCE. 


the  men  had  named  Romeo,  followed  his  friend  on  shore 
and  accompanied  him  on  his  various  marketing  errands, 
to  the  terror  of  all  the  orderly  natives.     He  even  went 


292  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

SO  far  as  to  follow  him  into  a  clmrcli  during  divine  ser- 
vice, where  fifty  good  people  were  performing  their  daily 
devotions.  Turning  suddenly,  the  cook  was  horrified  to 
find  Romeo  no  longer  visible  !  Where  could  he  have 
gone?  A  moment  before  he  had  been  close  on  his  master's 
heels,  and  now  he  was  not  to  be  found.  Within  a  few 
moments,  however,  he  reappeared,  but  in  a  most  unlooked- 
for  spot,  —  his  great  paws  on  the  edge  of  the  pulpit, 
and  his  head  wagging  above  them  with  real  eloquence ! 
There  was  an  immediate  stampede  among  the  congrega- 
tion ;  and  every  man,  woman,  and  child  made  headlong 
for  the  doors,  without  standing  on  the  order  of  their 
going.  This  incident  created  a  great  scandal ;  and  we 
were  compelled  to  go  elsewhere  to  refit,  where  we  did 
not  allow  Romeo  to  go  ashore,  fearing  some  new  es- 
capade. Arriving  home,  the  cook  begged  to  be  taken 
into  my  service  permanently,  so  great  had  his  attachment 
grown  to  the  bear,  and  I  readily  consented. 

"  Romeo  and  my  children  soon  became  fast  friends ; 
and  though  my  neighbors  laughingly  spoke  of  our 
house  as  '  the  bear  pit,'  we  did  not  greatly  mind,  but 
were  proud  of  our  distinguished-looking  nurse !  He 
would  go  silently  down  the  hall  in  the  morning  to  the 
nursery,  and  awake  his  little  charges,  and,  when  they 
were  dressed,  ask  nothing  better  than  to  play  with 
them  by  the  hour,  or  walk  beside  them  when  they 
took  their  exercise ;  and  I  always  noticed  that  nothing 
was  inclined  to  molest  such  a  well-guarded  party ! 


AN  AMERICAN'S    ADVENTURES.  295 

"  One  cold  winter  night,  a  poor  little  child  very  insuffi- 
ciently clad,  and  barefoot,  came  to  our  door  to  ask  for 
alms.  He  was  a  bright,  fearless  little  fellow,  and  be- 
tween Romeo  and  himself  it  was  a  case  of  love  at  tirst 
sight.  We  gave  the  lad  something  to  eat,  and  as  sotni 
as  his  hunger  was  satisfied,  Romeo  took  him  bodily, 
and  carried  him  off  to  his  own  quarters,  where  he  took 
him  between  his  warm  haunches  and  pillowed  him  on 
the  soft  fur  of  his  breast.  For  many  days  this  was  the 
lad's  regular  couch,  and  he  was  always  sure  of  a  wel- 
come and  a  share  of  whatever  was  best  in  Romeo's 
larder. 

"  By  the  way,  I  remember  very  well  the  first  time  I 
hunted  a  bear,  and  it  may  amuse  you  to  hear  it." 

I  assured  him  that  it  would,  and  he  continued :  — 

"  It  was  in  the  Tyrol ;  and  I  had  been  reading,  as  boys 
will,  most  exciting  books  of  hunting  adventures,  until 
my  imagination  was  filled  with  them,  and  I  resolved 
to  imitate  my  heroes  forthwith.  I  had  a  light  double- 
barrelled  shotgun,  and  armed  with  it,  I  set  out  one  bright 
morning  early,  in  search  of  hea7's.  After  walking  sev- 
eral hours  without  seeing  anything  in  the  way  of  game 
larger  than  a  robin,  T  met  an  old  man,  bent  and  worn, 
going  toward  the  village.  On  seeing  my  sportsman- 
like equipment  he  stopped  to  ask  me  in  search  of  what 
game  I  had  come,  and  on  my  frankly  telling  him,  lie 
laughed  long  and  loud. 

" '  What,  are  there  no  bears  now  in  this  neighborhood  '.' ' 


296  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

" '  Oh  yes,  but  far  from  here,  and  livhig  among  rocks 
and  forests,  that,  alone,  you  could  never  penetrate  ;  and 
even  if  you  did,  with  such  a  pop-gun  you  could  do  little 
more  than  tickle  a  bear ; '  and  off  he  went  laughing  to 
himself. 

''  I  must  confess  I  felt  rather  crestfallen  at  his  evident 
disrespect  for  my  plans  and  arms,  but  I  resolved  to  show 
him  how  he  had  misjudged  both,  by  bringing  back  a  bear 
to  put  him  out  of  countenance. 

"With  this  laudable  object  in  view,  I  continued  my 
route  for  some  miles,  when  suddenly,  joy  and  delight ! 
I  saw  a  veritable  bear  in  the  middle  of  the  road,  on 
his  hind  legs,  and  with  a  heavy  stick  in  his  fore-paws. 
I  could  hardly  believe  my  own  good  fortune,  and  my 
hands  trembled  with  excitement  as  I  raised  my  gun 
and  aimed  at  his  shoulder,  as  I  had  heard  one  should. 
Bano; !  banu;  I  went  both  barrels ;  and  when  the  smoke 
cleared  away,  I  looked  expecting  to  find  him  dead  as 
a  door-nail,  instead  of  which  he  was  merely  scratching 
his  back  as  though  a  mosquito  had  bitten  him ;  while 
I  heard  loud  shouts  of  '  Murder !  don't  fire,  it  is  my 
bear  I '  from  behind  a  neighboring  rock,  whence  issued 
an  irate  wandering  minstrel,  whose  sole  stock  in  trade, 
beside  his  instrument,  was  the  brute  in  question ! 

•'  I  became  the  laughing-stock  of  the  country,  and  after 
p.Lcifying  my  injured  friend  by  the  payment  of  ample 
damages,  I  was  glad  to  leave  the  Tyrol  until  the  matter 
should   blow  over. 


AN  AMERICAN'S  ADVENTURES.  297 

"  In  a  voyage  to  arctic  seas  that  I  once  made,  we  fell 
in  often  with  the  polar  bear,  and  became  familiar  with 
the    appearance    and    habits    of    this    handsome    variety. 


MY   HANDS   TKEMBLED   WITH    EXCITEMENT, 

Our  ship  was  caught  in  the  ice  off  the  mouth  of  the 
Lena,  and  it  was  impossible  to  get  on  even  had  we  not 
been  well  supplied  with  fresh  provisions.     It  was  a  real 


298  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

Switzerland  of  icy  peaks  and  crystal  ravines,  clothed,  in 
place  of  forests,  with  stalactites  and  stalagmites,  firm  as 
marble  and  glittering  like  diamonds.  By  aid  of  our  con- 
veyances, half-sled  and  half-boat,  we  could  travel  among 
these  wonders,  hunting  and  fishing,  and  there  was  not 
a  man  on  board  but  enjoyed  the  life,  which  we  made  as 
like  that  of  tlie  Esquimaux  as  possible.  Out  of  three 
white  bear-skins  I  had  made  myself  a  suit,  perfectly 
impervious  to  wind  and  weather,  giving  me  much  the 
appearance  of  the  animals  from  which  they  were  taken. 
Only  my  eyes  were  visible,  and  even  they  were  pro- 
tected from   the  cold  by  a  veil. 

''  More  trying  b}-  far  to  a  traveller  than  the  cold  is  the 
darkness.  Those  long  nights,  during  which  all  Nature 
seems  dead,  are  so  wearisome,  and  fill  the  mind  with 
ennui,  and  the  body  with  lassitude. 

"  One  day  the  doctor  came  to  pay  me  one  of  the  long 
visits  which  rendered  life  endurable  during  these  hours 
of  darkness.  His  cabin  was  next  to  mine,  —  for  we  had 
built  huts  and  dug  out  caves  in  the  ice,  instead  of  re- 
maining on  board  in  the  discomfort  caused  by  the  angle 
at  which  the  vessel  lay,  —  and  he  suggested  our  tunnel- 
ling the  partition  of  ice  between,  that  we  might  have  a 
covered  gallery  connecting  our  rooms.  I  agreed,  and  we 
set  to  work  instantly,  hoping  to  grow  warm  during  the 
exercise.  We  were  nearly  done,  and  were  beginning  to 
congratulate  ourselves  on  the  rapidity  of  our  work,  when, 
in  reply  to  a  vigorous  blow  of  the  hatchet,  we  heard  dis- 


AN  AMERICAN'S  ADVENTURES.  301 

tinctly  a  growl  veiy  like  that  of  a  flog  aroused  from  a 
nap. 

"  '  It 's  a  bear/  said  the  doctor,  calmly.  '  If  you  want 
to  add  to  your  store  of  skins,  it  is  a  good  opportunity." 

'^  '■  Don't  you  suppose  he  will  attack  us  '.' " 

"  '  Not  unless  you  fire  a  gun  in  his  ear.  He  sleeps,  and 
sleeps  soundly,  and  we  have  but  to  kill  him  in  his  dreams 
in  good  Homeric  style.' 

"  '  That  seems  rather  cowardly,  but  we  do  need  skins 
and  meat,  so  perhaps  the  means  are  justified.' 

"  The  bear  lay  rolled  in  a  ball,  and  covered  with  a 
blanket  of  snow,  so  that  it  was  hard  to  distinguish  his 
outline.  As  a  sudden  noise  mis-ht  awaken  him,  we  had 
to  be  careful  in  approaching  him,  to  do  so  silently ;  but 
we  held  him  sure.  Standing  one  on  either  side  of  his 
head,  at  a  signal  we  buried  our  axes  in  his  skull,  and 
killed  him  instantly,  thereby  obtaining  a  most  welcome 
addition  to  our  daily  bill  of  fare,  as  well  as  securing 
another  wrap  against  the  cold.  He  was  seven  feet  long, 
which  is  a  size  to  which  no  l3rown  bear  attains ;  and  his 
size  and  weight  were  more  those  of  a  fatted  ox  than  a 
wild  animal.  The  color  of  his  hair  was  slightly  yellow, 
rather  than  white,  and  it  was  long,  thick,  and  delight- 
fully soft.  The  men  were  so  rejoiced  at  the  feast  of  meat 
that  followed  this  lucky  find,  that  they  spent  all  their 
time  looking  for  polar  bears,  but  without  any  success. 

"  As  the  days  began  to  grow  longer,  however,  and  the 
ice  to  break  up  a  bit,  we  had  better  luck.     One  of  the 


302  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

first  of  these  clays  we  saw,  on  a  floating  cake  of  ice,  a, 
large  female  and  two  stalwart  cubs,  for  whom  she  was 
fishing,  diving  for  the  prey,  and  bringing  it  up  almost 
every  time  to  her  hungry  offspring.  Suddenly  she  made 
a  bolder  plunge  mto  the  waves,  and  then  began  a  wild 
struo-crle  with  some  larsrer  foe.  We  hurried  forward  to 
see  what  it  could  be,  guided  by  the  breaking  of  ice,  the, 
spouting  of  the  water,  and  the  tremendous  noise  which 
the  contestants  made.  The  bear  bayed  like  a  dog,  and 
gnashed  her  teeth  with  rage,  seeming  unable  to  land  her 
prey.  All  at  once  we  caught  sight  of  what  it  was,  —  a 
seal,  —  which  just  then  threw  itself  bodily  out  of  the 
water,  and  lifting  its  weight  upon  its  tail  and  hind  flippers, 
tried  to  bite  the  terrible  fisherman.  I  ordered  my  men 
to  loose  a  dog  that  had  been  trained  to  this  special  work, 
and  off  he  tore  like  a  shot.  Menaced  thus  from  behind, 
the  bear  turned  upon  this  new  enemy,  and  allow^ed  the 
seal  to  slip  quietly  into  the  water  and  escape.  The  dog 
stood  a  few^  paces  off,  and  tried  by  barking  and  constant 
movement  to  distract  the  bear's  attention,  and  turn  it 
to  his  advantage ;  but  the  old  lady  was  too  quick  for 
him,  and  moved  with  surprising  agility  for  so  large  a 
body.  Not  content  with  this  policy  of  defence  she  slowly 
advanced  toward  the  furious  dog,  now  grown  careless  of 
his  own  safety,  and,  when  almost  upon  him,  gave  a  heavy 
spring,  and  crushed  him  like  an  egg-shell  beneath  her 
enormous  weight.  We  were  still  too  far  off  to  help  the 
poor  creature,   and  as  any   advance  was   slow^  over  the 


AN  AMERICAN'S  ADVENTURES. 


303 


hummocks  and   across   the  open  channels,   I  almost   de- 
spaired of  gettmg  a  shot  at  tlie  bear ;  when,  instead  of 


THE  BKAR  MADE  A  WILD  LEAP  UPON  THE  NEAREST  CANOE- 


\ 


escaping  as  she  might  easily  have  done,  she  came  directly 
toward  us,  having  apparently  quite  forgotten  the  seal. 

"The  polar  bear  is  fierce  and  vindictive,  and  does  not 
I  found,  fly,  like  other  bears,  when  hunted ;  and  I  loaded 


304  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

my  ritie  quickly  as  the  distance  between  us  lessened.  A 
wide,  open  channel,  liowever,  interposed  between  us,  —  too 
broad  for  my  crazy  make-shift  of  a  boat  or  for  a  shot 
accurate  enough  to  kill.  But  tlie  natives  with  me  had 
their  tiny  canoes,  and,  without  so  much  as  by-your-leave, 
launched  them  and  paddled  toward  the  hoped-for  prize. 
They  sat  upon  the  bottom  of  their  frail  crafts,  with  their 
limbs  stretched  out  under  the  deck,  while  a  double-bladed 
paddle  supplied  the  motive  power.  Beside  each  lay  a 
long  javelin  barljed  with  iron.  These  hardy  fellows 
paddled  in  good  order  toward  the  other  side.  When 
almost  there,  the  bear  made  a  wild  leap  upon  the  nearest 
canoe,  overturning  it  and  drowning  its  occupant  like  a 
rat.  A  second  Esquimau,  who  came  to  his  aid,  met  a 
similar  fate,  his  skull  being  broken  by  a  blow  from  her 
formidable  paw. 

"  The  circle  of  foes  thus  broken,  the  bear  might  again 
have  escaped ;  but  her  maternal  instincts  called  her  to 
the  aid  of  her  little  ones,  and  turning  quickly  to  look 
for  them,  she  found  herself  face  to  face  with  two  more 
enemies,  and  without  the  chance  to  meet  and  defeat  them 
separately.  They  took  advantage  of  this,  and  plied  their 
spears  from  opposite  sides,  tingeing  the  icy  waters  with 
her  life's  blood,  and  killing  her  in  sight  of  her  little  ones. 
The  four  natives  left  then  raised  the  huge  carcass  on 
theiy  canoes  and  brought  it  with  rejoicing  to  the  shore, 
on  which  we  stood  spectators  of  the  cruel  hunt ;  for,  to 
me  at  least,  the  sympathy  was  all  with  the  game." 


AN  AMERICAN'S  ADVENTURES. 


307 


One  more  of  my  friend's  stories,  and  then  to  return 
to  warmer  climes. 

He  said :  "  That  reminds  me.     I  was  hunting  buffaloes 


MOUXTIXG  THE   SPECOIEXS. 


in  the  Rockies,  —  when  they  were  more  numerous,  too, 
than  they  are  now,  —  and  was  lying  in  wait  near  a 
stream,  where  I  hoped  they  would  come  to  drink.     All 


308  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

at  once  I  became  conscious  of  the  presence  of  another 
hunter  after  the  same  game,  —  a  black  bear,  lying  along 
a  huge  limb  that  overhung  the  favorite  jdooI.  He  lay 
there  so  still  that  I  should  never  have  noticed  him,  had 
not  my  own  attention  been  concentrated  on  the  same 
spot. 

"  Two  magnificent  buffaloes  strayed  away  from  the  herd 
browsing  far  out  on  the  plain,  and  came  slowly  down  the 
wind  toward  ns,  —  I  say  us,  for  the  bear  and  I  evidently 
had  the  same  object  in  view  in  coming  there.  I  resolved 
to  see  the  thing  out,  and,  if  possible,  bag  two  birds  at 
the  same  shot.  The  buffaloes  waded  into  the  pool,  and 
when  directly  under  him,  and  not  till  then,  the  bear 
dropped  heavily  down  upon  the  male  like  a  hawk  on  its 
prey.  The  great  ruminant  was  utterly  helpless,  and  his 
companion  tried  in  vain  to  assist  him  by  vigorous  blows 
from  his  stout  horns,  which  fell  quite  as  frequently  upon 
friend  as  upon  foe.  In  spite  of  them  both  the  bear  hung 
firm,  his  claws  deep  buried  in  his  victim's  neck,  while 
the  latter  charged  madly  up  the  bank,  where  he  fell 
crushed  by  the  weight  and  strangled  by  the  embrace  of 
the  bear. 

"  Now  was  my  turn,  I  thought ;  and,  while  he  was 
putting  the  finishing  touches  to  his  prospective  meal,  I 
sent  an  explosive  bullet  into  his  skull,  and  he  fell  upon 
the  buffalo  as  dead  as  he." 

I  found  the  American  a  delightful  companion ;  and  his 
stories  of  Australia  —  where  he  had  spent  years  —  induced 


A    GLIMPSE    INTO    THE    IIUSEUM. 


AN  AMERICAN'S  ADVENTURES.  311 

me  to  make  a  brief  visit  to  that  interesting  country, 
where  the  life,  both  animal  and  vegetable,  is  so  unlike 
anything  I  had  ever  seen. 

It  is  needless  to  say  Thursday  accompanied  me,  and 
that  we  went  well  armed  and  fully  prepared  to  add  to  my 
already  extensive  collection,  which  a  skilled  professional 
was  mounting  and  arranging  for  me  at  home.  In  fact, 
I  was  able  to  keep  a  number  of  taxidermists  continually 
employed,  mounting  the  specimens  I  sent  back.  My  barn 
had  been  transformed  into  a  natural-history  museum ; 
the  hay  intended  for  living  quadrupeds  distending  the 
skins  of  dead  ones,  shot  over  many  a  field  under  tropic 
suns.  It  would  have  given  a  nervous  person  a  sad  turn 
to  go  into  the  building  at  night,  when  the  moonlight 
came  in  floods  through  window  and  skylight,  falling 
upon  gorilla  and  orang-outang  and  every  known  variety 
of  ape,  arranged  systematically,  and  flanked  by  tiger  and 
lion,  bear  and  giraffe,  rhinoceros  and  hippopotamus,  in 
most  picturesque  confusion. 

I  longed  to  return  to  these  treasures,  but,  before  doing 
so,  turned  to  this  new  field  for  one  or  two  needed  additions 
to  my  collection. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

A  QUICK  TRIP  THROUGH  ''  THE  BUSH. 


HE  bush"  is  the  Australian  term  for  the  native 
jungle  ;  and  after  landing  at  Melbourne,  and 
admiring  the  wonderful  progress  of  this  com- 
paratively new  country  and  its  flourishing  capital,  we 
took  a  fortnight's  hard  riding  to  reach  it.  At  the  end 
of  that  time  I  found  myself  installed  at  the  hut  of  an 
Australian  squatter,  on  '"the  run  "of  a  hospitable  friend 
whom  I  was  to  visit. 

The  curious  country  round  us,  called,  as  I  have  said, 
"the  bush,"  is  a  mixture  of  forest  and  underbrush,  not 
at  all  unlike  the  virgin  solitudes  of  North  America  or 
the  jungles  of  India,  but  without  the  savage  grandeur 
of  the  former,  or  the  picturesqueness  of  the  latter,  with  its 
interminable  network  of  vines  and  bamboos,  —  the  haunt 
of  the  tiger,  the  panther,  the  elephant,  and  the  deadly 
serpent.  But  the  Australian  bush  is  varied  with  charm- 
ing meadows  filled  with  bright  flowers  and  clumps  of 
lofty  trees,  and  this  variety  extends  uninterruptedly  as 
far  as  your  horse  can  carry  you ;  always  the  same  prairie 
with  its  gigantic  trees,  the  same  flowers,  the  same  peace- 
ful  silence,  broken  occasionally  by  the  haj'sh  note  of  a 


A    QUICK   TRIP    THROUGH  "  THE   BUSH:'  313 

parrot,  or  the  cry  of  a  cockatoo,  standing  on  one  foot 
and  lifting  his  head  to  watch  you  pass.  Everywhere 
you  are  met  with  cautions  not  to  touch  that  flower  to 
your  lips  lest  it  poison  you ;  not  to  break  that  branch 
lest  a  tiny  thorn  may  pierce  your  skin,  and  you  die 
in  convulsions  within  an  hour,  and  such  like  cheerful 
advice.  You  are  surrounded,  in  fact,  with  deadly  plants, 
which  under  a  tropic  sun  distil  the  most  potent  poisons ; 
and  it  is  the  vegetable,  rather  than  the  animal,  kingdom 
that  the  traveller  has  to  fear. 

"  The  run "  had  been  named  by  the  owner,  a  friend 
and  countryman  of  mine,  '•  Devil's  Station,"  because  of 
the  savage  wildness  of  the  country  covered  with  virgin 
forests  and  untracked  bush,  and  he  confided  to  me  that 
he  had  never  himself  been  entirely  round  his  property. 
The  name  was  appropriate  on  account,  as  well,  of  this 
deadly  growth  of  plant  life,  suggesting  to  a  superstitious 
mind  the  magic  influence  of  evil  spirits. 

The  English  Government  has  hit  upon  the  happiest 
way  to  colonize  this  rich  country,  allowing  to  the  first 
comer,  without  regard  to  "  race,  color,  or  previous  con- 
dition of  servitude,"  the  right  to  take  possession  of  any 
unoccupied  land,  —  ten,  twenty,  fifty,  or  one  hundred 
acres,  as  much  as  his  resources  will  allow  him  to  im- 
prove to  advantage,  —  demanding  in  return  so  small  a 
tax  that  it  simply  serves  to  establish  and  preserve  the 
royal  property  in  the  land.  The  settler  becomes  the 
tenant  of  the  Government,  rulmg  over  these  vast  pos- 


314  HUNTING   IN    THE  JUNGLE. 

sessions  as  he  sees  fit ;  the  only  condition  imposed  upon 
him  being  that  he  shall  receive  and  entertain  for  three 
days  any  European,  wounded,  sick,  or  in  want,  and 
supply  him  with  sufficient  provision  to  reach  the  next 
station.  Any  one  breaking  this  rule  loses  at  once  all 
the  privileges  of  his  original  concession,  and,  although 
there  are  some  flagrant  abuses  resulting  from  it,  as  a 
whole  it  works  well,  and  has  saved  many  a  good  fellow's 
life. 

Two  days  after  our  arrival  our  host  arranged  a  kan- 
garoo hunt  in  our  honor,  in  the  native  way,  —  that  is, 
without  guns.  The  night  before,  a  dozen  guides  were 
despatched  in  different  directions  to  scour  the  country, 
and  report  on  the  prospect  of  a  successful  hunt. 

At  dawn  we  were  awakened  by  our  host,  and  told 
to  prepare  for  a  day's  sport,  as  the  report  from  the 
scouts  had  been  favorable.  The  party  consisted  of  five 
natives,  my  host,  myself,  and  Thursday,  and  three 
travellers  invited  at  the  last  moment.  One  of  them 
brought  two  enormous  dogs  in  leash,  bearing  the  sug- 
gestive names  of  Strangler  and  Terror.  We  were  fol- 
lowed by  a  wagon  loaded  with  provisions  and  camping 
conveniences,  enough  to  last  us  a  week,  if  we  chose  to 
stay  that  long.  As  the  day  broke  we  strangers  were  all 
loud  in  our  admiration  of  the  beauty  of  the  landscape, 
and  our  words  fired  the  pride  of  our  guides.  So  we  went 
along  well  pleased  with  ourselves  and  one  another. 

Here  and  there,  as  if  dropped  pell-mell,  without  order 


A    QUICK   TRIP   THROUGH  ''THE  BUSH/'  317 

or  system,  our  host  pointed  out  all  those  varieties  of 
giant  mj'rtle  and  pine,  which  are  unequalled  elsewhere 
in  the  world ;  the  eucalyptus,  —  one  variety  of  which  is 
noted  for  its  abundant  sap,  the  growing  well  of  the 
traveller ;  and  one  for  its  height,  often  reaching  four 
hundred  feet,  and  rivalling  its  neighbor,  the  Welling- 
tonia  Gigantea,  which  grows  to  even  greater  heights. 
Hundreds  of  varieties  of  acacia  studded  the  plain,  filled 
in  with  Australian  white  lilies  of  sweetest  perfume. 
We  were  passing  through  little  clumps  of  fig-trees, 
whence  a  wax-like  gum  exuded ;  of  iialukas,  bearing  a 
sort  of  manna;  and  of  silk-trees,  whose  long  green 
threads  swept  the  ground  like  hair. 

At  eleven,  or  so,  we  met  another  of  our  scouts  waiting 
to  advise  us  of  the  proximity  of  the  game  for  which 
we  were  in  pursuit ;  and  by  his  advice  we  left  our 
mustangs  under  guard  of  one  of  the  natives,  and,  rifle 
in  hand,  began  threading  the  undergrow^th,  often  so  dense 
and  low  that  we  were  obliged  to  advance  on  hands  and 
knees,  stopping  every  now  and  then,  as  the  guide  listened, 
his  ear  near  the  ground,  for  any  sound  of  game  in  the 
neighborhood.  After  an  hour  of  this  painful  advance,  the 
guide  told  us  we  had  reached  the  spot  where  he  thought 
the  kangaroos  would  shortly  come  ;  and  we  lay  as  he 
placed  us,  each  behind  and,  in  fact,  in  a  bush,  so  that 
we  could  not  see  one  another,  so  well  were  we  hidden. 
It  was  uncomfortable,  but  necessary.  The  guide  then 
began  the  clever  imitation  of  a  magpie's  note  at  regular 


318 


HUNTING   IN    THE  JUNGLE. 


intervals ;  and  even  I  who  knew  he  was  going  to  do  it, 
and  who  lay  nearest  him,  lialf  douljted  it  was  not  the 
real  article.     It  was  as  good  as  Thursday's  imitation  of 


UV    HIS   ADVICE    WE    LEFT   OUR   MUSTANGS. 


the  young  elephant.  Suddenly  a  light  rustling  among 
the  leaves  drew  my  eyes  in  another  direction ;  and  there 
stood  a  magnificent  kangaroo  over  six  feet  tall,  looking 


.1    QUICK   TRIP   THROUGH   "  THE  BUSH.''  319 

around  for  the  source  of  the  disturbance,  which,  by  the 
way,  ceased  instantly. 

The  light-footed  animal  approached  fearlessly,  now 
stopping  and  sitting  on  its  haunches  to  eat  a  tuft  of 
delicate  greens,  now  dropping  on  all  fours  and  running 
forward  in  a  zigzag  course  as  light-heartedly  as  a  child. 
Soon,  reaching  the  stream,  it  drank  deep  draughts  from 
the  waters,  and,  what  was  our  astonishment !  out  popped 
from  one  of  its  pouches  a  young  one  and  gambolled  on 
the  grass  beside  its  mother.  It  was  a  pretty  sight,  and 
T,  for  one,  regretted  the  hostile  ambush.  But  it  was  too 
late  now  to  draw  off  the  natives,  who  could  not  under- 
stand such  a  motive,  and  who  already  held  their  javelins 
poised  for  hurling. 

By  courtesy,  Thursday  was  allowed  the  first  shot,  and, 
either  by  luck  or  a  skill  which  I  was  ignorant  he  pos- 
sessed, his  spear  was  so  well  aimed  that  the  poor  beast 
fell  without  a  sound,  and  almost  before  the  fatal  steel 
reached  her  he  ran  out,  disregarding  the  cautions  of  our 
host  to  look  out  for  the  dying  animal's  claws,  to  catch 
the  little  one  and  offer  it  to  me  for  adoption.  I  found 
it  old  enough  to  live  without  its  mother,  to  whom  it 
struggled  feebly  to  return. 

Meanwhile  the  natives  had  scooped  out  a  hole  some  two 
feet  deep,  and  filling  it  with  dead  wood  and  large  round 
pebbles  from  the  river-bed,  set  fire  to  the  pile,  and  soon 
had  a  pile  of  red-hot  stones  and  glowing  embers.  The 
kangaroo  was   quickly  dressed,  and   the  best   parts    put 


320  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

into  this  improvised  oven  and  earthed  up  for  thirty 
minutes,  when  they  emerged  smoking  and  appetizing, 
and  I  must  confess  I  never  ate  anything  better  —  in 
Australia ! 

We  passed  the  night  in  camp,  and  the  next  day  re- 
turned to  our  indefatigable  mustangs,  remounted,  and 
continued  our  inspection  of  the  run  and  our  search  for 
further  adventure.  .  Tlie  little  kangaroo  steadfastly  re- 
fused all  food,  and  at  the  end  of  the  second  day  died  of 
starvation.  It  was  an  inglorious  ending  of  a  cruel  sport, 
to  my  mind ;  and  I  heartily  wished  both  mother  and 
young  alive  and  free  again. 

For  several  days  we  travelled  through  the  bush,  jour- 
neying slowly  from  one  enchanted  scene  to  another,  —  the 
horses'  hoofs  sinking  into  a  soft  green  carpet,  stretching 
far  and  wide  beneath  the  grateful  shade  of  the  gigan- 
tic trees ;  on  every  side  fragrant  flowers,  yellow,  red, 
purjDle,  and  white,  arranged  as  no  florist  can,  and  in 
a  profusion  unequalled  by  any  forced  growth.  One  of 
the  lilies  is  periodic  in  its  perfume,  as  the  morning-glory 
is  in  bloom,  sending  out  no  perfume  during  the  night, 
but  under  the  magnetic  influence  of  the  sun's  warmth 
emitting  a  most  penetrating  and  agreeable  scent,  drawing 
toward  it  thousands  of  bees  that  hang  upon  its  flowers 
for  hours.  Another  lily,  a  red  variety,  jjer  contra,  seems 
to  languish  during  the  heat  of  the  day,  waiting  the 
refreshing  dews  of  evening  to  open.  When  twilight 
■comes  it  arouses  from  its  lethargy,  holds  up  its  beautiful 


I 


I 


A    QUICK    TRIP   THROUGH   "  THE   BUSH:'  323 

head,  and  pours  a  flood  of  fragrant  incense  into  the  night, 
closino:  ag-ain  at  early  dawn. 

The  silence  of  the  prairies  oppressed  us.  for  not  a  bird's 
note  disturbs  these  solitudes ;  although  later  we  found 
that  there  icere  plenty  of  winged  beauties  on  the  conti- 
nent —  but  of  that  and  the  odd  waj-  in  which  we  became 
convinced  of  it,  later. 

We  saw  many  kangaroos,  but  without  harming  them; 
even  the  natives  seeming  to  have  been  touched  by  the 
death  of  our  little  captive.  They  are  timid,  graceful 
animals,  of  great  variety  of  size,  and  should  only  be 
killed  when  their  excellent  meat  is  needed. 

I  passed  my  days  adding  to  my  herbarium  and  collec- 
tion of  insects,  and  my  rifle  hung,  a  useless  ornament, 
at  my  saddle-bow.  One  of  these  peaceful  mornings,  I 
was  riding  along  with  m}^  party,  when  I  noticed  occasional 
glances  of  alarm  cast  over  his  shoulder  l^y  our  leading 
bushman.  The  day  had  opened  clear  and  bright,  when, 
suddenly  and  without  warning,  the  wind  began  to  rise 
and  blow  in  a  most  threatening  way  through  the  trees, 
bending  their  lofty  trunks,  and  tearing  the  leaves  from 
the  branches.  1  was  old  enoug^h  woodsman  to  understand 
why  the  Australians  looked  anxious  and  turned  their 
horses  toward  the  denser  forest,  where  the  trees  would 
shelter  us  from  the  approaching  cyclone.  Great  black 
clouds  scurried  across  the  sky.  and  showed  us  we  must 
hurry  to  reach  any  shelter  Ijefore  tlie  storm  should  break. 

''  We  still  have  a  few  minutes'  lee-way,"  said  our  host, 


524 


HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 


"  for  a  cyclone  is  always  preceded  by  a  flight  of  birds  es- 
caping from  it,  —  just  as  we  are,  but  with  better  success." 
Almost  as  he  spoke  the  sound  of  innumerable  wings  was 


I  WAS   XTKGING   ON   MY   NAG   "VVITH   SPUR   AND  VOICE. 


heard,  and  a  dense  flight  of  birds  passed  over  our  heads, 
uttering  their  discordant  cries,  as  if  defying  the  gale  behind 
them. 


A    QUICK    TRIP    THROUGH  "  THE   BUSH.''  325 

I  was  urging  on  my  plucky  nag  with  spur  and  voice, 
and  she  seemed  to  understand  the  necessity  of  effort, 
"  devouring  the  ground  "  beneath  her  flying  feet,  while 
overhead  the  forked  lightning  lit  up  the  inky  sky.  It 
was  an  impressive  sight,  its  very  suddenness  adding  to 
its  grandeur.  I  must  have  resembled  the  phantom  rider 
of  the  Norwegian  ballads,  who  only  appears  on  days  when 
kings  or  great  men  die  ;  tearing  across  the  country  flat 
upon  his  fiery  steed,  with  the  black  clouds  of  misfortune 
and  death  behind  him.  Like  a  cannon-ball  the  cyclone 
struck  us,  and  carried  my  stout  mare  forward  as  irresisti- 
bly as  if  she  had  been  a  feather.  It  was  impossible  to 
stop  or  to  turn  aside.  Forward!  was  the  only  word  ;  and 
the  fact  that  a  tiny  lake  lay  directly  in  front  of  us  made 
no  difference  whatever  to  the  wind  god,  and  into  the 
water  we  went,  horse  and  man,  in  obedience  to  his 
mighty  breath.  This  seemed  to  pacify  him  instantly,  or 
else  he  had  done  his  worst,  for  the  wind  fell  as  promptly 
as  it  had  arisen,  leaving  me  to  haul  myself  out  by  an 
overhanging  branch,  none  the  worse  for  my  bath,  while 
the  poor  pony  waded  ashore  at  the  nearest  beach ;  and 
together  we  sought  our  companions,  scattered  far  and 
wide,  like  dead  leaves  before  the  blast.  No  one  had  been 
hurt ;  and  we  were  congratulating  ourselves  upon  the 
escape  of  the  part}''  all  through  our  lunch  hour,  which  we 
prolonged  to  several,  resting  our  tired  horses  and  excited 
guides,  who  whiled  away  the  time  telling  stories  of  less 
fortunate   parties,    overtaken    by   these    sudden   tropical 


326  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

gales,  and  never  beard  from  afterward.  Just  as  we 
were  starting  on  once  more,  onr  chief  guide  interrupted 
our  chat  and  hiughter  by  laying  bis  finger  on  his  lips, 
and  pointing  toward  a  tall  eucalyptus  near  which  we 
had  been  lunching. 

"What  is  it,  Nagarnook?"  queried  our  host. 

The  guide  moved  silently  round  the  tree,  his  hands 
clasped  negligently  behind  his  back,  scrutinizing  with 
his  bead-like  eyes  every  point  of  its  polished  bark.  After 
a  moment  or  two  of  this  examination,  he  stopped  and 
uttered  one  word  :  "  Opossum  !  " 

''  How,  in  the  name  of  all  that 's  good,  does  he  know  ?  " 
laughed  I. 

A  smile  of  conscious  pride  passed  over  the  face  of  the 
native,  who  understood  my  tone  of  surprise,  as  with  his 
finger  he  pointed  out  to  nie  a  line  of  tiny  scratches, 
hardly  visible,  in  the  smooth  bark  of  the  giant  tree. 

"  Yes,  but  they  may  be  old  marks.  What  makes  you 
believe  them  recent  ?  " 

"  The  white  chief  is  pleased  to  jest  with  his  slave." 

"  No,  seriously ;  T  see  that  they  are  opossum  marks,  but 
the  trees  are  full  of  just  such  tracks  all  around  us." 

'■'  Let  the  white  chief  look  more  closely ; "  and  he 
showed  me  in  the  marks  lowest  down  on  the  trunk, 
grains  of  sand,  damp  still,  and  evidently  recently  left 
behind  a  climbing  'possum.  Blowing  hard  upon  these 
the  sand  still  clung  to  the  moistened  track.  He  looked 
up,  proud  of  his  proof. 


WE   PROLONGED   OUR   LUNCH   HOUR. 


A    QUICK   TRIP   THROUGH  ''THE  BUSH."  329 

"  Well  done !  But  how  can  we  get  at  him  ?  Let  us 
see  you  solve  that  difficulty !  " 

Without  waiting  to  be  asked  twice,  Nagarnook  seized 
his  hatchet  and  cut  a  foothold  in  the  base  of  the  tree  a 
yard  up,  and  another  a  yard  above  that.  Placing  his  toes 
in  this  improvised  ladder,  and  with  his  left  arm  embracing 
the  mighty  trunk,  he  lifted  himself,  and  with  his  right  cut 
a  new  rest  higher  up,  and  so  on  until  he  reached  the 
lower  branches,  where  the  animal's  hole  was.  Into  this 
he  ran  his  hand,  and  seizing  the  fellow  by  his  tail  to  avoid 
his  sharp  teeth,  he  swung  him  round  his  head  several 
times,  and  brained  him  on  his  own  doorstep,  and  then 
dropped  him  at  our  feet  in  triumph.  It  was  all  so  neatly 
and  quickly  done,  that  we  could  not  help  a  shout  of  ap- 
plause, as  he  descended  in  the  same  way  he  had  gone  up. 

The  little  animal  was  cooked  for  supper;  and  it  was 
now  so  late,  we  decided  to  camp  where  we  were.  The 
meat  of  the  'possum  — which  is  about  three  times  as 
large  as  a  gray  squirrel  —  is  bitter  and  detestable  to  a 
European  palate ;  but  the  native  guides  thought  it  de- 
licious, and  made  a  perfect  feast  of  it. 

The  night  was  enlivened  by  the  cry  with  which  this 
animal  salutes  its  coming,  and  which  it  utters  as  it  seeks 
its  food  from  branch  to  branch  in  the  darkness.  This 
note  was  like  a  bugle-call  to  the  natives,  who  quickty 
lighted  pine  torches,  and  started  in  pursuit  with  their 
boomerangs  as  arms,  and  bagged  over  a  dozen  before 
they  were  satisfied  to  turn  in  for  the  night. 


330  HUNTING  IN    THE  JUNGLE. 

The  boomerang  is  an  arm  purely  Australian  in  inven- 
tion and  use,  and  I  have  never  seen  it  carried  in  any 
other  country  on  the  globe.  It  varies  in  length  from 
two  feet  and  a  half  to  three  feet,  and  is  fashioned  from 
a  hard  though  flexible  bit  of  wood,  slightly  curved  in 
the  middle,  rounded  at  one  end,  and  quite  flat  at  the 
other.  It  is  not  so  wholly  unlike  a  Yankee  axe-handle 
in  shape,  though  in  color  it  is  almost  always  as  much 
darker  as  the  color  of  Australian  woods  is  deeper  than 
those  of  New  England. 

When  the  native  wishes  to  use  his  boomerang,  he 
seizes  it  at  the  larger  end  in  both  hands,  the  convex 
side  up,  then  whirling  it  rapidly  round  his  head  with 
a  peculiar  motion  of  the  wrist,  that  gives  it  its  terrible 
force  and  accuracy  of  return,  he  lets  it  go  into  the  air. 
Thus  hurled  it  travels  some  dozen  yards,  which  is  sim- 
ply preliminary.  At  the  instant  it  touches  the  ground 
it  rebounds  several  feet,  and  returns  upon  its  track 
until  it  reaches  the  object  against  which  its  thrower 
intended  it  to  strike. 

They  tell  a  curious  story  of  this  weapon,  so  deadly  in 
an  Australian's  hands.  When  one  of  the  first  explorers 
returned  to  England,  and  told  of  its  marvellous  accuracy 
and  execution,  the  learned  doctors  at  Oxford  laughed  at 
him,  and  one  in  particular  took  especial  delight  in  pointing 
out  the  physical  impossibility  of  such  feats,  and  sneering 
at  the  narrator.  A  few  months  afterward  this  disbe- 
liever was  sent  by  his  confreres  to   Australia  on  some 


I!E    Stt-UNG    HIM    ROUND    HIS    HEAD    SEVERAL   TIMES. 


mission  connected  with  his  profession,  and  had  occasion 
to  prove  the  truth  of  the  story  he  had  doubted. 

Placed  face  to  face  with  a  native  chief,  he  asked  the 
latter  to  exhibit  his  skill  with  the  boomerang,  taking 
him  as  his  mark ;  and,  folding  his  arms,  he  stood  smil- 
ingly awaiting  the  result.  The  chief,  although  some- 
what surprised,  asked  nothing  better,  and,  with  a  hasty 
glance  at  the  professor,  hurled  his  weapon  into  the  air.' 
After  describing  several  graceful  curves,  it  came  back 
swiftly  toward  its  mark  whistling  viciously,  and  it  would 
certainly  have  broken  the  doctor's  sceptical  skull,  had 
he  not  prudently  thrown  himself  flat  on  the  ground  in 
a  paroxysm  of  terror,  from  which  he  emerged  in  a  wiser, 
if  not  a  happier,  frame  of  mind. 

We  should  have  been  glad  to  stop  this  unnecessary 
slaughter  of  opossums ;  but,  as  our  host  said,  you  could 
no  more  convince  the  natives  of  the  cruelty  they  were 
needlessly  inflicting,  than  you  could  induce  them  to  alter 
their  religion  in  favor  of  one  in  which  transmigration 
should  play  a  part.  A  sudden  end  was  put  to  the  f>port, 
however,  in  an  unlooked-for  way,  by  the  cries  of  terror 
and  pain  which  one  of  the  natives  uttered  at  this  mo- 
ment. We  did  not  understand  the  language,  but  we 
caught  the  feeling  vividly ;  and  the  whole  camp  rushed 
toward  the  sufferer,  rolling  in  agony  beside  the  stream, 
his  head  apparently  wrapped  in  a  black  turban. 

"  What 's  the  matter  with  him  ?  "  shouted  one  of  our 
party.     Without  waiting  to  reply,  the  chief  guide  drew 


oo4  HUNTING   IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

liis  knife,  and  (juick  as  thought  laid  the  black  band- 
open  its  entire  length,  revealing  the  tortured  features 
and  wounded  forehead  of  his  countryman  beneath.  For 
it  was  one  of  the  terrible  reptiles  of  the  country  that 
had  fallen,  like  a  leech,  upon  the  poor  fellow,  and  was 
slowly  sucking  away  his  life-blood.  As  it  dropped  off 
we  saw  six  large  vv'ounds,  from  which  the  blood  flowed 
freely,  on  the  guide's  face,  and  a  real  bandage  was  im- 
mediately applied,  and  such  prompt  remedies  adminis- 
tered as  experience  had  taught ;  for  delay  is  death. 
After  this  accident  naturally  enough  the  hunt  was 
brought  to  a  sudden  end,  and  we  turned  our  horses 
seaward,  our  journey  enlivened  by  stories  of  this  fright- 
ful scourge,  which,  fortunately,  is  as  rare  as  it  is  terri- 
ble ;  indeed,  my  host  said  that  in  twenty  years  of 
knocking  round  the  bush,  this  was  but  the  third  he 
had  seen.  And  m}'  tempting  offer  of  a  year's  supply  of 
rum  and  tobacco  to  any  native  who  would  brins;  me 
a  specimen  alive,  failed  to  produce  one  within  the  next 
two  weeks,  during  which  I  remained  in  the  country. 

The  next  morning  as  we  were  preparing  to  mount, 
one  of  the  men  called  our  attention  to  a  swarm  of 
bees,  and  a  very  large  one,  on  a  branch  of  mimosa, 
their  legs  covered  with  the  rich  pollen,  and  apparently 
quite  forgetful  of  their  hive.  Each  native  immediately 
set  to  work  making  himself  a  tiny  cage  from  reeds ; 
and  into  this,  with  marvellous  skill,  and  the  aid  of 
some    bit    of    bloom    particularly    appetizing    to    these 


A    QUICK   TRIP   THROUGH  "  THE  BUSH.'' 


337 


*' friends  of  flowers,"  as  they  are  poetically  called  there, 
each  tempted  a  few  bees,  and  shut  them  in  safely. 
None   of   the    white    men   interfered    in    this    danfrerous 


LEAVING   nni,    LIKE    MAZEPPA,   AT   THE   BEAST  S   MERCY. 

operation,  nor  did  w^e  understand  its  object,  but  watched 
with  admiration  while  they  handled  these  peppery  little 
fellows  without  a  sting. 

When   each   had   captured    about   a   dozen,  the    chief 


338  HUNTING  IN  THE  JUNGLE. 

explained  to  our  host  how  they  proposed  by  these 
prisoners  to  discover  the  hive,  and  obtain  a  coveted 
supply  of  honey. 

In  five  minutes  we  were  all  in  the  saddle,  and,  the 
Australians  leading,  started  in  the  direction  in  wdiich 
the  first  bee,  when  liberated,  flew.  As  soon  as  we  were 
distanced  by  this  rapid  guide,  another  was  let  go,  and 
so  on,  until,  at  the  tremendous  pace  we  were  going,  I 
felt  we  must  have  travelled  twenty  miles,  for  we  did 
not  even  draw  rein  when  a  fresh  bee  was  freed.  The 
pace  was  beginning  to  tell  on  one  of  our  party,  and 
afterward  he  confessed  to  me  he  had  never  ridden 
so  hard  in  his  life.  To  add  to  his  sufferings,  his  saddle 
began  to  slip,  and,  cling  as  he  might,  it  surely  and 
slowly  disappeared  beneath  his  horse's  belly,  leaving 
him,  like  Mazeppa,  at  the  beast's  mercy.  It  was  no 
laughing  matter,  although  he  did  appear  most  supremely 
ridiculous ;  for,  riding  as  hard  as  we  could,  Ave  could  not 
catch  his  frightened  pony,  which  easily  led  the  liunt. 
Luckily  for  him,  the  animal  entered  into  the  pursuit 
with  intelligence  as  well  as  zest ;  and  when  at  last 
the  dead  tree,  groaning  beneath  its  weight  of  stored 
sweets,  was  reached,  he  stopped  with  the  rest,  and 
ended  his  mad  career  as  gently  as  he  had  begun  it. 

Loaded  with  honey,  we  continued  our  way  at  a  more 
comfortable  jog,  reaching  our  host's  broad  verandas  in 
time  to  enjoy  a  more  luxurious  bed  than  we  had  seen 
for  many  nights. 


A    QUICK   TRIP   THROUGH  "  THE  BUSH.'' 


339 


Before  bidding  farewell  to  iny  hospitaljle  friend  and 
Thursday,  —  whom  I  bequeathed  to  him,  when  I  found 
the  latter  was  willing,  —  I  made  one  brief  hunting  trip 


I   FOUND   SEVERAL  SMALL  FISH   IN   HIS  STOMACH. 

in  another  direction,  which  introduced  me  to  a  curious 
bat-like  animal,  with  a  description  of  which  I  may  most 
appropriately  close  this  wandering  narrative,  which  per- 
haps resembles  it,  —  half-bird  and  half-mammal. 


340  HUNTING  IN   THE  JUNGLE. 

I  had  shot  a  couple  of  foxes,  and  was  '--  toting "  them 
mto  camp,  when  I  heard  a  rustling  in  the  underbrush 
along  a  stream  running  beside  the  trail,  and  out  hopped 
a  frog-like  bat,  with  the  tail  of  a  beaver !  This  is  the 
best  way  I  can  describe  him,  even  after  shooting  and 
dissecting  him.  He  was  like  an  American  beaver  in 
other  respects  than  his  broad,  flat  tail ;  but  his  throat 
and  long  web-footed  hind  legs  were  those  of  a  frog ; 
while  the  membrane  from  his  fore-feet  to  his  side  re- 
sembled the  wings  of  a  bat. 

Opening  this  curiosity  carefully,  I  found  several  small 
fish  in  his  stomach,  and  an  old  button!  —  certainly  a 
light  breakfast !  I  took  the  greatest  pains  with  this 
specimen,  wishing  to  identify  it  when  I  returned  to 
America,  and  packed  it  with  my  most  valued  posses- 
sions, intrusting  the  package  to  Thursday,  who  insisted 
on  going  back  to  Melbourne  to  see  me  safely  off.  But 
I  was  fated  never  to  see  it  again.  Between  the  wharf, 
where  I  parted  with  the  faithful  fellow,  and  the  hold 
of  the  vessel  the  package  mysteriously  disappeared ;  and 
I  have  never  been  quite  sure  whether  I  was  the  victim 
of  a  practical  joke,  or  whether  I  really  was  the  dis- 
coverer of  a  new  species,  of  which  the  knowledge 
perished  with  the  lost  package. 


University  Press:    John   W'ilsnn  iind  Son,  Cambridfce 


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